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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29613486">The Caretakers Chronicles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_guy_who_writes/pseuds/That_guy_who_writes'>That_guy_who_writes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Little Nightmares (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff and Humor, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:00:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>43,646</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29613486</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_guy_who_writes/pseuds/That_guy_who_writes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Maw was free, it's course set and it's captives liberated. The Architect could now rest easy for a few months to tackle a new, slightly less daunting problem. Taking care of 36 children who have been starved of any and all love and affection for years. He felt responsible for their plight, so he resolved to make their voyage to the mainland a memorable one.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>186</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cooking for 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>These chapters probably won't be as long as the ones I write for "The Architect" unless I'm really inspired. I'll mainly be using this to kill time while brainstorming ideas for my main story. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy these snippets that pop into my head at random!</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect discovers a newfound appreciation for the culinary arts, an appreciation shared by his children.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect almost wished he didn't kill The Chefs, that way he wouldn't have to wake up so early to cook breakfast for his children (his heart still did little leaps of joy at the thought.) He wasn't exactly a morning person despite his slightly unhealthy work ethic. Why couldn't he have just enslaved the fat bastards and forced them to cook in exchange for their lives? It would be pretty ironic to have them cooking for the children they so happily chopped up. That thought made him clench his fists for a moment. That's right, they were child killing monsters with little regard for the suffering of others. Guess burning in hell was all they were really good for, he doubted the children would be thrilled about eating anything from them anyway.</p><p>He cleared the pantry and freezers of anything he couldn't confidently ID as livestock, chucking it off The Maw before getting to work. Cooking wasn't exactly one of the things he could say he excelled at, his eye only really came in handy when it came to constructing buildings or tools, not breakfast. His only way of improving his culinary skills came from reading cook books and trial and error.</p><p>A great deal of trial and error. Thank God The Maw was equipped to feed such a ravenous group of people, he had plenty of ingredients to experiment with. Once he was confident in his ability to cook food that wasn't burned to a crisp, he woke the children up one morning to serve them breakfast. They sleepily stumbled into the dinning room, only waking up when the appetizing smell of eggs and bacon reached their tiny nostrils. The large table was set with plates of scrambled eggs with sides of bacon with glasses of orange juice, all appropriately portioned for children their age and size. The children were shocked at the sight, not really expecting to eat an actual breakfast that didn't just consist of a small loaf of bread. Years of being served slop and stale bread made them nearly drool at the sight of an actual cooked meal.</p><p>Six was the first one to sit down and eat, joyfully digging into the fluffy scrambled eggs while The Architect gauged her reaction. The girl looked like she was on cloud nine as she ate, washing down the food with a quick swig of orange juice. RK and Eve quickly followed her example, eating with a bit more restraint with large smiles. The rest of the children sat down and dug into their meals with similar expressions of content, happily savoring the taste of a cooked meal. The Architect was pleased with the results, happy that his time in the kitchen wasn't a wash. The sight of their pleased and joyous expressions made waking up at such an atrocious hour worth it. He could get used to this if this was the sight that greeted him every time he cooked for them. He was honestly quite excited to try cooking them other meals for lunch and dinner to see how they'd like it. A indescribable feeling of pride and satisfaction blossomed in his heart as he gazed at the feasting children, something about the sight filled him with joy.</p><p>He was snapped out of his pleasant thoughts when he noticed the children all looking at him, their plates sufficiently cleaned as Six slowly asked. "Can I have seconds?" She was gazing up at him with imploring eyes, a look quickly mirrored by the rest of the table. Well shit, he hadn't actually prepared for the probability of them wanting more. It had slipped his mind that some of these children were malnourished, of course they'd ask for more food. He smiled kindly as he stood up. "Of course, I just need time to make some more." He delighted in how they're eyes sparkled with joy, he couldn't refuse such pleading faces if this was the result of making some more food. He swiftly entered the kitchen and got to work.</p><p>-</p><p>A good part of his usual routine was cooking meals for the children, switching it up every day or so to have a sense of variety. They enjoyed anything he put before them, but some kids especially loved different meals. Some kids seemed to greatly enjoy burgers and fries, one of those kids being RK who expressed his joy vocally after taking his first bite. Saying that it was the tastiest thing he's ever put in his mouth as he eagerly ate. Six herself seemed to enjoy anything, not much of a picky eater that one but that wasn't too surprising. Eve seemed to love spaghetti and anything Italian related, her eyes shining in barely suppressed joy whenever she caught sight of the dish at the table. No matter what meal he had prepped for the day they would always clean out their plates, satisfied smiles all around. He was glad that he did away with those terrible Chefs, he refused to surrender this pleasant feeling in his chest as he cooked their meals while he hummed a small tune to himself.</p><p>He was in the process of collecting all the plates when the children beamed up at him with the largest smiles he's ever seen, expressing their gratitude in unison.</p><p>"Thank you for the meal!"</p><p>He blinked for a moment, fighting the overwhelming amount of joy and satisfaction to respond warmly. "Anytime kids, can't just let you all starve now can I?" He asked with a smile, putting all of the plates on a small trolley before he decided to ask something.</p><p>"So how long did it take you guys to rehearse that perfectly?" He asked casually, chuckling to himself when he heard Eve let out an embarrassed gasp behind him, quickly shouting at him as he left the room.</p><p>"That's none of your business!"</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect was washing dishes tonight, as he usually did before he went to sleep. The only difference this time around was the small group of children that were divvying the tasks to help him finish, handing him plates to scrub while others dried them. This group was led by Six, who was currently drying a small plate with a yellow dishrag. The girl was really fond of that color. This arrangement was suggested by Eve when RK told her he found the man still cleaning dishes one night past twelve, he had assured them that it was fine and that he didn't need too much help. His words were ignored as the girl came up with a proper schedule for different groups to help him on different days, something The Architect was slightly proud of. The children seemed to like the idea of helping their guardian with his task because they eagerly went to work. He blamed this on his own work ethic, it obviously imprinted onto them as they watched him toil away in his workshop.</p><p>He had just taken the last plate from one of his helpers when the boy fell into the sink, making the man quickly shoot his hand down to pull the blonde boy out of the suds filled water. The boy was rubbing his face to clear the soap from his eyes, prompting the man to rinse the boy under the faucet quickly before depositing him on a clean and dry rag. "Congratulations my friend, you get to go straight to bed after this while everyone else showers." The Architect said with an amused smile, the boy pouted in response as the other children quietly laughed. He put away the last of the dishes before addressing the group. "Thank you for all your help children, especially you my dear boy." He said while rubbing the blond boys head affectionately, making him flush in embarrassment before he spoke.</p><p>"But all I did was fall in the sink."</p><p>"And thanks to that, I don't have to wash my hands. Means I get to sleep earlier." He stated with a small smile, looking down at the damp boy before asking. "What's your name? I'd feel bad about calling you Suds." He teased, making the boy chuckle quietly at the name before he answered. "My name is Seth." The Architect slowly nodded before picking the boy up, setting him on his shoulder as the rest of the children climbed on. This was quickly beginning to become a popular means of travel amongst the children, leading him to getting softer cloth to make his shirts out of. He spoke merrily as he walked back to the nursery.</p><p>"I plan on making something special for you kids tomorrow to thank you for your work, I'll give you a small hint, it's very sweet and has chocolate in it." He could practically see their excitement at the thought of eating anything with chocolate in it, he had discovered that they had a real sweet tooth on them when he first baked them chocolate chip cookies. Anything sweet was greatly appreciated by the children who have only known the taste of bread for a great deal of their lives. He was more than happy to give them such sweets in careful moderation, he wasn't really looking forward to reeling in 36 kids suffering from a sugar rush. He also wasn't a dentist, so if teeth started getting loose he would be resorting to string and doorknobs. The kids were quick to agree with him once he explained why they couldn't eat too much sugar, not excited in the slightest about removing their teeth in such a fashion.</p><p>He left the group in the showers to bathe in peace, he had modified the showers once he discovered the disgusting infestation of leeches that resided in the pipes. A few empty pipes and small controlled fires cleared the pests out of the pipes. He had also made them appropriately sized for the small children, making a future infestation impossible and leading to less wasted water. He carried the slightly sleepy Seth to the nursery and set him down on one of the beds gingerly, tucking the fading boy in with a small smile before moving to leave. "Goodnight Seth." He quietly called, a soft noise that sounded faintly like a "Night" was the boys response before the sandman took him to the realm of dreams. The Architect watched as the now clean children slowly walked into the silent room to join their friends, shuffling into their beds to sleep away the night. The room was soon filled with the soft breathing of sleeping children, he stayed for a moment longer before slowly shutting the door without making a peep.</p><p>He walked back to his room with a content smile on his face, removing his clothes and slipping on his sleepwear before crawling into bed. Closing his eyes slowly as he tried to get some rest.</p><p>He had to wake up early, breakfast wouldn't make it's self after all.      </p><p>  </p><p>      </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dreams Of A Better Future</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>An innocent question sparks an idea, leading to a discussion of futures and hobbies.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I would like to give a shoutout to Willow for suggesting the prompt for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Pass me a screwdriver, please." The Architect spoke while holding out a hand to his left.</p><p>"Here you go." The soft voice of Seth rang out in the workshop as the man took the tool, tightening a few screws into a metal frame with his right eye aglow. It wasn't uncommon to find The Architect toiling away in his workshop between meals or even at night. The man was naturally a busy person by default, hands and mind working in tandem to create helpful tools for his children while repairing any problems that arise in The Maw. Was it tiring? Without a shadow of a doubt. Did The Architect enjoy it? Immensely, to the concern of the children at times. It didn't help that he enjoyed constructing things and figuring out what made certain things click, he was a curious boy in his youth. No longer being in life threatening circumstances helped pique his interests about certain things.</p><p>He would always make time for any of his children that wanted to spend time with him, happily playing games of hide and seek or sipping out of a small tea cup while sitting with some giggling girls, much to the amusement of RK. He would have to be deaf to miss the sounds of his laughter from the other side of the room, reigning in his embarrassment and frustration since it was "Impolite" to shout while enjoying tea.</p><p>Little runt was lucky he was so hard to find after those little playdates.</p><p>"Hey Mr. Architect?" Seth called out, making the man blink and look at the curious eyes of the blonde boy with a soft smile. "Yes Seth?" He responded as he finished tightening the screws, pleased with how the stock of his soon to be made crossbow came out. "What are you making exactly?" The boy asked while gazing down at the stock. The Architect set it aside as he answered. "It's a part for a tool called a crossbow, we'll need it to hunt small animals and scare away wolves once we reach the mainland." He set his tools aside, content with his productivity for the day. Nothing pleased him more than making progress on his projects. The boys next question made him pause, freezing his hand as it reached for his toolbox.</p><p>"Why do you like making things?"</p><p>There was no malice in the question, it was asked with only innocence and curiosity. It still struck his core as he pondered the question, when exactly had he started enjoying his job as a creator? For the longest time his only concern was survival, even in his younger years in the forest, stalked by that blood thirsty Hunter and his hounds from hell, he never truly enjoyed creating traps and snares. Most had fond memories of the first things they've ever created, pride and the like as they watched it work as intended. He simply remembered the relief he felt whenever his snares caught a rabbit, his starving body appreciating every bite he took from the cooked meat. He never felt happy or joyful when his traps worked, simply pleased that they ensured him a meal. Likewise he was hardly fazed when his traps broke or crippled prey instead of killing them, just meant he had to review their integrity and chase a dying animal down. His survival was paramount, he took joy in the days he spent with a full stomach.</p><p>Now that such traumatizing times were behind him was he allowed to feel joy whenever his creations and tools worked as intended. That cursed Signal Tower made him forge a place of boundless suffering without a single thought of satisfaction or pride. Just another reason to resent the horror that hid behind the guise of a simple tower. He smiled warmly at the boy, not allowing his foul thoughts to sour this pleasant moment. "I guess I just simply like watching the things I make work, I enjoy taking things apart and figuring out how they work." He answered honestly, making Seth look down as he pondered his answer. He looked up and shyly asked his final question for the night. "Could you teach me how to make things too?"</p><p>The Architect's eyes widened as he stared at the boy, his heart surging with multiple emotions as he asked. "Why would you like to learn how to make things, Seth? You know I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He assured, making the boy wave his hands in a flustered way. "T-That's not what I meant! I just like watching you build things, especially the complicated stuff that leaves you staring at it for a few minutes. I was only wondering how it would feel to make something, watch it work with that smile you always have when the things you make work perfectly." The boy explained with a small smile. The Architect was now firmly able to identify the most prominent emotion he was feeling.</p><p>It was pride, a blistering amount of pride.</p><p>He smiled widely, delighted to have a pupil to teach. "Of course I can teach you, my boy! We'll start you off with something simple." He said as he scrounged through his messy drawers for a blueprint he had in mind. He pulled it out and rolled it out in front of the boy as he began to speak. "Now, it's important to remember that nothing you make the first time around is guaranteed to work. That's why it's important to learn from mistakes and review." He spoke as the boy nodded along</p><p>"How come everything you make works the first time around?"</p><p>"I have an eye that is a literal cheat sheet when it comes to building stuff, it would be unfair to put you on such a high standard."</p><p>"Oh... I thought it was just a cool thing you did while you worked."</p><p>"That's just a small plus."</p><p>The rest of the night was filled with similar banter and trial and error, a process Seth began to understand and despise in equal measure.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect was pondering something that came to him after another day of tutoring Seth, did the other children have similar aspirations? Obviously not all of them would want to be little future architects (despite how much the thought filled him with joy), they were probably interested in other things. His curiosity grew before he decided on the most simple approach to sating it. They were all eating in the dinning room, enjoying a simple lunch of rice and seasoned steak. He softly cleared his throat, garnering the attention of his children before he spoke. "Something has come to my attention, dear Seth told me one night that he wanted to create things like me and it had me curious." Seth shot him a look of betrayal as a fierce blush blossomed over his cheeks, a result of almost every child looking over at him with wonder and question.</p><p>"I was just wondering, do any of you have any dreams for the future, things you can see yourself enjoying for a long time?" He asked with a small smile, watching as they considered his question thoughtfully. They never really gave much thought to the future when things seemed so bleak on The Maw, dreams of their future were as whimsical as myths to them. That was until The Architect freed them and purged their prison of it's monstrous occupants, giving them the luxury of wandering the vessel without fear of capture or death. Now the doors of their future was open wide, threatening to blind them with the prospect of a free tomorrow. It was slightly daunting to think about a future when most were certain their days were numbered. Six was surprisingly the first one to speak.</p><p>"I would like to open a flower shop."</p><p>The Architect hid his surprise well as RK and Eve looked at her in surprise, making the girl flush under the hood of her yellow raincoat. The man swiftly gave the embarrassed girl a genuine smile as he asked. "Why a flower shop? What flowers would you sell?" He asked, making the girl look up at him as she answered. "Because most of the kids here have never seen flowers, so they'd be really popular. I'd sell all types of flowers but I'd mainly sell sunflowers." She seemed proud of her answer while the man looked at her with a shocked look. That was...a rather logical way of thinking, her preference for sunflowers was easily understandable given her attachment to her raincoat, even if it was a bit ironic. "That sounds like a nice idea, I'm sure it would be a lovely flower shop if you remember to water them." He said with a small chuckle, making the girl tilt her head.</p><p>"Water them?"</p><p>The man blinked, right, most of these kids weren't aware about how to care for plants or animals, not that they had a great deal of either onboard. He made a mental reminder to set them aside to teach them these things before turning to RK. "What about you, RK?" He asked, making the boy smile before he answered without hesitation. "I want to be an astronaut and go to space!" How the hell did a boy who was terrified of the ocean want to go to space? From what he read in his free time it was just as scary as the ocean and some training exercises were done underwater. Perhaps he felt more confident about going up to space if he had a cool looking suit? The Architect chose not to reveal such information, not wanting to burst his bubble as he spoke. "I'll be sure to build you a rocket in the future, you can visit the moon and tell us all about it when you get back." He smiled warmly as the boy beamed at him.</p><p>Eve decided to speak next. "I'd like to be a cook, I want to learn how to make that tasty spaghetti you always make." She said happily. Now <em>that</em> was surprising, he was sure most kids would shy away from that particular career path after being subjected to the cruelty of the Chefs. Did his cooking really inspire this? He would be happy if that was the case, some help with food preparations would be appreciated, even if he didn't have to do much due to their small stature. "I'd be happy to teach you Eve, a helping hand in the kitchen is always welcomed." He saw a few other kids perk up at the idea, making him quickly add. "That doesn't mean you get a free pass to eat first, that wouldn't be fair for everyone else." This was met with begrudging groans of acceptance. Eve looked thrilled about helping him, making him smile in amusement as the rest of the children began to tell him about their own dreams.</p><p>"I want to be a pirate!"</p><p>That boy looked besides himself with glee when he explained that they technically were pirates since they hijacked The Maw.</p><p>"I'd like to be a princess!"</p><p>The Maw was without a governess, that was practically the same as a princess. The haughty expression the girl had on her face at the revelation made him think he may have made a mistake in sharing that particular piece of information.</p><p>"I'd be happy being a librarian."</p><p>They had a whole library without a librarian, the quite girl's eyes twinkled at the prospect of being in charge of such a large collection of books.</p><p>"I always wanted to learn how to play music."</p><p>It wouldn't be too difficult to build small instruments for them to use, a small band sounded adorable to him. The group of boys looked happy at the news, especially when he told them he'd teach them the moment he learned how to play anything. </p><p>The rest of their lunch was spent talking about their dreams and ambitions, with The Architect assuring them just how possible some of their seemingly outlandish dreams were. They were so excited as they explained every intricate little thing about their future as he patiently listened with a smile that never wavered in the slightest. Most of the things they wanted would take a good deal of work on his part in the future, but he wouldn't complain. His mind was already rolling ideas around to make their dreams a tangible reality. A few sleepless nights would be a small price to pay.</p><p>-</p><p>"Go ahead and set it down on the water Seth."</p><p>"Are you sure it'll work?"</p><p>"You spent a lot of time on this, it'll work and if not we just go back to the drawing board."</p><p>The Architects gentle assurance calmed the boy somewhat as he set the small Pop pop boat down, a small toy boat powered by a very simple steam engine that can be powered with a candle. The boat itself was a black and brown colored vessel affectionately named the <em>Lagnappe. </em>Seth lit the candle inside and watched with budding pride and amazement as the boat started sailing leisurely around the flooded sink, filling the air with soft popping noises expected of its namesake. The boy regarded him with a brilliant smile as he happily pointed at the small ship. "Look Mr. Architect! It's working perfectly!" He exclaimed excitingly, making the man chuckle as he ruffled the blonde boys hair. He was proud that the boy managed to get it working after a few failed attempts, he was never discouraged by his failings either. He hardly needed his help when he got the hang of it.</p><p>"Indeed it is! You did that all on you're own, take pride in that boy. You'll be building bigger and greater things before you know it."</p><p>"I hope so, I want to make huge things super fast like you did." </p><p>The boy missed how the man flinched, recalling his near catatonic time in the Signal Tower. He refused to let a single one of these children set foot into the Pale City with that <strong>thing </strong>looming over them.</p><p>"Patience and time is you're best friend when it comes to learning these things, try to remember that." He said kindly while rubbing Seth's back, making the boy nod in understanding before turning his attention back to his functioning little boat.        </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Nomes and Other Such Pleasant Distractions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect finds his work constantly interrupted by the cone hatted denizens of The Maw, piquing his curiosity on the origins of the little creatures.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A shoutout to Willow and Solar for the suggested prompt of this chapter, I'm honestly getting a surprising amount of suggestions for this story, not that I'm complaining of course. It's interesting to see what others think would make for a good chapter, I hope you enjoy the following chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect could confidently say that he was aware of his surroundings most of the time, he wouldn't have survived his brief childhood if that wasn't true. He always kept tabs on where certain things were as he scavenged for resources in those desolate woods, memorizing the positions of his traps and optimal escape routes in the case of an emergency. This small habit hardly faded during his time in The Maw, if anything it grew more prominent in this structure of groaning metal, although for different reasons. He had a plethora of sharp and dangerous tools that can cause serious harm if misused, something he was incredibly mindful of once he became the caretaker of a vessel filled with curious children and Nome's.</p><p>That's why he was currently staring at his work table with a frown, because he was fairly certain he left his screwdriver here after leaving the room.</p><p>He had already searched the floor below in case it fell, he found nothing. He scratched his head a bit as he looked around the room, he was sure he left it on the table. Was he remembering things wrong? That was a terrifying thought but he doubted it, he wasn't old enough to be forgetting such simple things. The soft and questioning chortle of a Nome made him look over at the small creature, who was currently sitting on his bed with a tilted head. The Nome's had an interesting way of popping up in places he never expects them to be, lounging about in his room and even getting stuck in his drawers. This made for fairly startling and amusing mornings whenever he opened one just to find a Nome pop out.</p><p>"I'm looking for one of my tools, a screwdriver about this size. Have you seen it?" The Architect asked the creature while showing a rough estimate of the missing tools size with his hands. The Nome seemed to think about it for a moment before slowly shaking it's head, jumping off his bed and scurrying off with a friendly wave. He returned it with a raised brow, wondering why it suddenly left with a loud yawn. It was getting late and he was tired, his screwdriver will show up eventually, it could wait until tomorrow. He slipped into his bed with that last thought, getting comfortable as he slid his hand under his soft and cool pillow.</p><p>Only to abruptly open his eyes as he felt the familiar handle of his screwdriver, his eyes narrowed in the dark. The little rascal hid the thing and acted all innocent! What a mischievous little devil.</p><p>-</p><p>Apparently he wasn't the only one to fall victim to such things. The Nome's were playing similar pranks on the children, hiding toys or startling them by popping out of vents or boxes. Cackling in their strange tongue as the children chased them around, this was one of the things he could expect to wake up to. This particular morning had Six and RK tugging on his fingers in an attempt to rouse their sleeping guardian, hardly making the man stir. They then crawled up onto his chest before jumping as high as they could, landing on his stomach. The Architect exhaled loudly and sat up, nearly knocking the two kids off the bed as he stared at them with a tired glare. He was starting to think he should invest in an alarm clock to avoid waking up in such a fashion.</p><p>"What would my kind, loving children need so badly to wake me up in such a way?" He asked slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. RK had the decency to look ashamed as Six answered without missing a beat. "A Nome took one of RK's toys up to The Lady's quarters and he was wondering if you could get it for him." RK quickly spoke up as he saw annoyance build up behind their guardian's eyes.</p><p>"I also wanted to ask this <strong>whenever</strong> you woke up, I was perfectly fine with waiting."</p><p>"You wouldn't have asked him because you felt it was silly."</p><p>"You're trying to tell me its not?"</p><p>The Architect sighed loudly. "Enough, I'll go grab the stupid thing, which toy did they take?" He asked, not at all in the mood to see the children bicker. Any other time and it would have been amusing and somewhat cute, it lost its charm in the morning. RK smiled and held a hand slightly above his head. "It was a brown teddy bear about this big, I saw one of them drag it off and use the elevator before I could catch up." He said as the man started to stand up. "I'll bring it back to the playroom, hopefully it'll stay there with the rest of the toys that should be put away once you're done playing with them." He gave the boy a pointed look, making him smile sheepishly in response as Six shook her head slowly. The Architect barely heard Six berate the boy as he left.</p><p>"I told you this wouldn't happen if you just put the stupid bear away."</p><p>"Oh shut up! I get enough of that from Eve!"</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect entered The Lady's quarters, looking around with a slightly uncomfortable look. Even without the governess this place still felt unnaturally cold and disturbing, he chalked that up to the cursed magic the woman excelled at using. It wouldn't surprise him if she placed some type of ward in here that had such an effect on unwanted guests or something. Magic wasn't exactly his area of expertise, his eye seemed to dislike magic as much as he did. Just being in this room made his right eye twitch a bit, randomly flashing green before he made a conscious effort to stop it. He sped up his pace, stopping when he saw little footprints leading into the library. He followed them towards a secret passage that was open wide, masquerading as a simple bookcase.</p><p>He entered the room slowly, grimacing when he found the petrified bodies of children spread out over the room. They were in an array of positions, all of them looking terrified and hopeless in their final moments. He clenched his fists for a moment before relaxing, The Lady was dead, no further harm could come to the children. Getting upset over these unfortunate kids would do little for them and was ultimately pointless. He spotted the Nome he was searching for, who was currently holding the teddy bear up to one of the petrified kids, a girl who was hugging her knees to her chest while trying to make herself as small as possible. A frown tugged at the The Architect's lips, did the Nome know the poor girl? He hoped not, he couldn't imagine taking the bear away if it was offering it to it's petrified friend. It wouldn't feel right in the slightest-.</p><p>His thoughts abruptly halted when he saw the Nome's shadow, stretched out against the wall by the only light bulb in the room. It was the shadow of a girl, matching the small movements of the Nome perfectly. He shook his head a bit and rubbed his eyes harder before looking back at the sight, the shadow didn't change. So it wasn't tired eyes playing tricks, why was the Nome's shadow in the visage of a little girl? As far as he knew these little things were genderless, so why the different shadow? He looked back at the oblivious creature, watching as it longingly stared down at the petrified girl. His mind was starting to draw patterns that he didn't like in the slightest. He slowly left the room, deciding to let the Nome have it's privacy and the bear, he could find another one for RK to play with.</p><p>He needed to confirm something immediately.</p><p>-</p><p>Six and RK were lounging about in The Architect's room, idly looking up at the different creations and blueprints that lined the walls. The Architect certainly wasn't an idle man, Six couldn't imagine the sleepless hours he spent making half of this stuff. She was currently hugging a Nome to her chest while RK was sternly staring down another, trying to interrogate the little creature about his missing toy to no effect.</p><p>"I know that Nome had someone helping them, no way it closed that elevator by itself so fess up!"</p><p>The Nome crossed it's arms and looked away, refusing to answer the boy. RK frowned and rubbed his chin while Six watched on with an unamused look. The Nome in her arms shook it's head at the sorry attempt at intimidation before the door slowly opened. The Architect walked into the room, making RK stand away from the stubborn Nome before he noticed his empty hands. " I guess you couldn't find the Nome huh?" He asked with a soft sigh, the man said nothing as he turned off the lights in the room. The kids blinked at the sudden darkness, jumping slightly when the room was illuminated once more by a glowing green eye. It trained itself on the startled Nome, making the poor thing shake under the intense gaze as RK quickly tried to diffuse what he thought was a bad situation.</p><p>"I-I don't think that one did anything wrong! Besides being uncooperative." He said as The Architect stared at the shadow behind the Nome with wide eyes. It was in the shape of a boy, making his stomach churn uncomfortably as he turned the lights back on.</p><p>The Nome's were children, each and everyone of them.</p><p>Much like when he looked upon the Signal Tower for the first time, he was able to see what hid beneath the exterior of the small creatures. They obviously weren't man-made so he couldn't gleam a thing on how they came to be (something he was incredibly thankful for), all he knew was that magic had to be involved, only something unnatural like a spell or curse could cause such a drastic metamorphosis. He didn't know what to think for a moment, this easily explained the playful and mischievous behavior they always seemed to show when it was safe, their eagerness to play with and even get attached with certain children. It wasn't uncommon for him to find a Nome snuggled up to a sleeping child in the nursery whenever he checked in on the kids. He always wrote this off as the kids just being incredibly friendly with the creatures, finding something smaller than them cute and wanting to sleep with it.</p><p>He put a hand to his face and sighed loudly, sitting down on the floor with RK and Six looking at him with growing concern. He didn't know what to do with this information, how do you tell a bunch of kids that some of the Nome's they loved being around might just be missing friends or siblings? Should he even tell them? No, that wasn't even a question, of course he should tell them. They deserved to know this, even if it may unsettle some of them. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Six and RK tugged on his shirt, making him look down at them as Six asked. "Are you okay? You were really pale for a second." RK nodded in agreement, making him shake his head a bit as he answered. "The Nome's are children, somehow, someway, they were warped into what they are now." He said slowly.</p><p>The Children looked at him with wide eyes, taking the information in as the two Nome's in the room looked up at The Architect sharply. They quickly ran over to him and frantically gestured at him before placing their hands on their chests, He slowly understood what they were trying to convey after a few moments. "Yes I can see how you really look with my eye." He spoke softly, making them pause for a moment before they ran forward and hugged his leg. The man was not expecting that, but could understand why they seemed so excited. He was probably one of the only people onboard that could clearly see through them and reveal their identities. Six and RK slowly began to believe the wild claim as they saw the Nome's excitedly chitter amongst themselves, seemingly ecstatic with the information they've learned.</p><p>The Architect slowly stood up and stretched, an announcement would need to be made, the children deserved to know the identities of their smaller friends.</p><p>-</p><p>He had gathered all of the children in the playroom the next day, satisfied that all of them were present with some Nome's in the mix. He began to explain the origins of the Nome's, revealing that they were actually transformed children before turning the lights off in the room and shining his eye at one of the Nome's resting near a wall. The child next to it gasped in shock as he stared at the shadow of a girl that sat against the wall. He turned the lights back on as the boy whispered something to the Nome, causing it to practically fly into his chest as he clutched it's small body tightly with shuddering sobs, burying it's head into the crook of the crying boy's neck. The other children watched the sight with wide eyes before looking at their own Nome's that looked up at them, chirping happily as they were quickly brought into tight hugs. The sight made The Architect smile sadly, the poor changed children probably had no way of conveying their identities to their friends and siblings, seemingly content with being apart of their lives again.</p><p>This quickly changed when they learned of his ability to see their true forms, ecstatic with the prospect of finally being able to reveal themselves to the siblings and friends they longed for. The Nome's were clutching the children just as tightly as they wailed names long thought lost to the monsters that had once inhabited the vessel. He watched as they slowly released each other and began playing with each other in earnest, laughing joyfully as they reconnected with each other. He has never seen the children nor the Nome's so happy before, the only thing that came close was the news of their newfound freedom. He was glad he was able to help the little one's reconnect with their friends when they couldn't do so themselves.</p><p>He left the room to let them catch up, he had work to do now that he knew the Nome's would be occupied for a time.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect slowly woke up when he felt something shift on his bed, a small body curled up besides him. He assumed it was one of the children, he was used to having some of them sneak in and sleep with him after experiencing a nightmare. Hard to forget the terrible things that they were forced to live through in this dreaded place. He simply pulled the blanket up a bit and tried to fall back asleep. He felt another body curl up besides him, followed by another that crawled onto his chest. He was much too tired to notice how small the bodies were compared to the usual child, or how many were laying with him. He just fell asleep once more, letting the sandman claim him.</p><p>The Architect's mornings were then on spent gently jostling Nome's awake as he rose from his bed, sleepily getting dressed as the small creatures presented his tools for the day to him with clear eagerness. He would walk through the halls, inspecting The Maw's condition with a small troop of Nome's following after him. He would be greeted by the sight of children excitingly playing or telling stories to their shorter friends, who nodded their cone hatted heads along with every word as they listened intently. His troop of Nome's would crawl into places he couldn't reach and open barred doors for him, beaming at his words of praise as he fixed lights and circuits. They would hand him ingredients as he cooked meals, never seeming to eat themselves but greatly enjoying the task of making food.</p><p>He would arrive to his room at night, tired but content as the Nome's readied his bed before crawling under the covers and looking up at him imploringly. These Nome's were some of the one's who no longer had any living friends or siblings aboard The Maw, having decided to stay with him despite his repeated assurances that they didn't need to help him. He realized they weren't likely to leave anytime soon so he just went along with it. He carefully laid down, trying not to crush the little creatures as he got comfortable. They soon snuggled up to him as he fell asleep, clinging to his clothes as they joined him.</p><p>The Architect was happy with this, even if his tools were still sometimes misplaced by the mischievous Nome's. </p><p>             </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Movie Night On The Maw</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect stumbles upon an old box filled with DVDs as he clears the guests quarters, he decides to watch a few despite his unpleasant past interactions with TV's. The children soon join him for a movie night.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to North for pitching this suggestion to me for a chapter, hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The areas where the guests used to sleep could be easily compared to a pigsty, clothes and half eaten food was a common sight in each room. The Architect stomped over the clothes and broken plates that were spread out all over the room, searching through abandoned luggage for anything worthwhile. He's been spending most of the day combing through each room in search of anything he could use to build and improve his creations onboard The Maw, sometimes he would find some lovely contraband. Knuckle dusters, pocket knifes, even a handheld radio, these were just a few things he found as he stripped the rooms bare. He was especially pleased with finding that radio, lots of intricate materials inside that he could use. He didn't really care what its owner was trying to accomplish with it, they were either dead or sailing away so no point in scratching his head over it.</p><p>He was just about to exit the room when he saw a small box poking out from under the bed, curious, he pulled the box out and examined its contents. It was filled with multiple cases with discs inside, a glare with his right eye supplied him with a name for what he was looking at. They were all DVDs, secured safely in small cases with their titles messily scribbled onto them. He tilted his head slightly before examining the room, it lacked a TV to play such films. Why did this particular guest have them then? Perhaps they wanted to sell them onboard? The Architect pulled the box out and lifted it up with a grunt, hauling it out of the room. He had done enough scavenging for today, night would be approaching soon if his watch could be trusted. He was going to see what exactly these discs held, even if he had to find a TV and DVD player.</p><p>-</p><p>The DVD player wasn't too hard to find, it was hidden underneath the stacks of DVDs inside the box. Finding a TV was a little harder, any he did find were either smashed or heavily damaged. He managed to find a functioning one in the library, hauling it past the curious kids reading inside as he walked back to his room. He connected it to the outlet and plugged the DVD player into the appropriate port. He took out a disc at random and inserted it into the player before reclining back into his chair. He tried to ignore how uncomfortable the static noise of the TV made him as it soon began to play the film. He watched with fascinated eyes as the screen showed a man dressed as a cowboy walk without fear into the middle of a old western town, undaunted by the angry glare of the man ahead of him dressed in black. The camera continued to follow the first cowboy, who was dressed in white clothes and had a pleasant voice.</p><p>"This fellow seems to have a bit of a problem with me, can't imagine why. This would be my first time meeting this particular gunslinger." The man leaned forward, flashing a bright smile as he patted his belt. "Luckily I have a surefire way of dealing with such troublesome men, as you will soon see." He winked, turning to face the now shouting man at the other end of town.</p><p>"I'm calling you out Songbird! You're singing and killing days are over!" Songbird seemed unfazed as he calmly observed the other man, whistling to himself before turning to the camera. "This feller seems mighty confident, he must be real quick with his shooting iron." He rested a hand on his six shooter before continuing. "Let's see if I'm faster." He turned back to the man, who was standing at the ready with his hand over his holster. Songbird soon called out.</p><p>"Are you ready?"</p><p>"Ready!"</p><p>"Are you set?"</p><p>"Set!"</p><p>"Do you need a count?"</p><p>"Naw sir!"</p><p>The moment he finished speaking Songbird drew his gun, clearing leather and blasting his trigger finger clean off. The man looked at his hand in shock before screaming loudly in pain. "Mighty hard to shoot a gun with those leftover digits, can’t be too careful though.” Songbird said with a cheeky grin before firing four more shots, making the man's right hand completely useless. The man hollered louder as he tried to take out his weapon with his other hand. Songbird looked at him in disbelief before cackling. "Looks like when they made this fella they forgot to put in the quit!" He said before taking out a mirror, turning around and gazing into the reflection of the struggling man while aiming his gun over his shoulder. "Five fingers and a bullet a piece, and I ain't got but the one bullet left, sure hope I don't miss." He carefully aimed while holding the mirror up.</p><p>"His heart be on the left but in the mirror it be on the right, course we both facing the same way and the gun is upside down so...ahh best not to play it too fancy." He fired and put a bullet clean through the screaming man's heart, holstering his gun and putting away his mirror as he quipped. "Cause for reflection!"</p><p>The Architect was completely enthralled by everything he was watching, thoroughly entertained as the charming gunslinger went town to town, singing whimsical songs while swiftly dealing with outlaws. He hardly noticed how fast time passed before the credits began to roll, making him blink slightly as he felt just how tired his eyes were. He ejected the disk and examined the rest of DVDs in the box, he could easily see the children enjoying this (maybe not that specific film.) but maybe there was something child friendly inside. A nice cartoon or something, maybe even a comedy movie. He would have to play the films to see their titles, the writing on the cases were too worn and sloppy. He spent the rest of the night labelling the cases with a pen, finding suitable movies to watch for the next night.</p><p>He hoped they'd like it, it would be a nice little activity for the kids to enjoy. He would need to make some popcorn for the coming event.</p><p>-</p><p>Six, RK, Seth, and Eve dragged their pillows and blankets into The Architect's room along with the other kids, wondering what they were doing tonight. He was usually pretty strict about their bedtime, so the fact that they were staying up late to do something excited most of the kids greatly. They were lead into the room by the visibly excited man himself, who was now setting the TV up. He finished his preparations before turning to address the kids sitting behind him. "I found a box full of DVDs while clearing the guests quarters the other day, I figured some of you might be interested in watching a movie or two as opposed to sleeping early." Some of the kids perked up at the thought of watching a movie, others just tilted their heads. Only a handful of kids seemed to know what a movie was, having been lucky enough to see one or two during their travels before being brought to The Maw. He was excited to show the rest the entertainment a movie could provide.</p><p>He set up the first movie and began passing out small bags of popcorn, something the kids eagerly took and munched on as the film began. He sat down with Six and RK quickly claiming a spot on his lap. The film started with a shot of a walking rabbit with gloved hands strolling leisurely through the woods, unaware of the short and bald huntsman stalking him in the backdrop. The man jumped out at the rabbit and pointed a shotgun at it, making it blink before it leaned on the barrel casually, gnawing on a carrot it pulled out of nowhere before speaking. </p><p>"Ehh... What's up doc?"</p><p>The rest of the film followed this witty rabbit named Bugs Bunny as he taunted and fooled other people and talking animals. The children were loving every second of the film as they watched him comically trick his enemies, usually leading them to hurting themselves in hilarious fashion. Six had a small smile under her hood while RK was covering his mouth in an attempt to mute his giggles, the other kids were openly laughing and pointing at the screen whenever someone got turned to a flat pancake by a mallet. The film soon ended with Bugs jumping into his rabbit hole and waving at the screen, giving the screen a big smile as he munched on a carrot.</p><p>"That's all, folks!"</p><p>The Architect smiled as the children erupted into applause and cheers, seems they liked the whimsical little bunny. He reached over and ejected the disc, sliding in the next one before getting comfortable once more. This film started with a shot of some mystical boy flying through the air followed by a fairy, taking children with him to some magical land where they never aged. The Architect frowned slightly at this, the notion of staying a child was frightening to him. Having years pass you by only to stay the same small and helpless boy? He'd gladly pass, might as well stand in front of a falling tree and thank it for crushing him. The children seemed to like it well enough, watching with excitement as the children on screen flew with their mystical guide. They cheered them on as they fought villainous pirates lead by a cunning Captain.</p><p>He could admit that he was nodding off a bit during the finale of the film, only refocusing on the screen once the children cheered. The Architect saw the credits rolling and glanced at the children around him, finding some of them fighting sleep while others were curled up in their blankets. Six and RK were barely hanging on themselves, Seth and Eve were cuddled up to each other as they slept, a truly heartwarming sight in his humble opinion.</p><p>"Mr. Architect? Will we be able to do this again sometime?" RK sleepily asked, making the man look down at him before he gave a small smile. "Of course my boy, you all seemed to enjoy it well enough. I think we could do this every Friday or so, how does that sound?" He asked softly, his response came in the form of a happy smile from both children currently resting on his lap. Well, if they were that happy about it then he was left with only one real option wasn't he? He leaned back into the wall behind him as he felt his eyelids get heavier by the second, the kids were all soundly asleep with Six and RK snoozing away on his lap without a care in the world. He was going to be terribly numb and complaining about cramps in the morning but he didn't have the heart to wake them now. Best to get some sleep and just tough it out. </p><p>He faded into a dreamless sleep with that last thought.</p><p>-</p><p>This small tradition went on throughout the months, Friday nights would find a tranquil room of children sleeping soundly with the background noise of a staticky TV. The Architect would either be fast asleep with the children or sleepily turning the buzzing TV off before crawling into his bed, mindful of its new inhabitants as he drifted off. He was happy that the guests brought him something other than grief and headaches, these movies were a wonderful distraction from the dark world around them. He was happy he could make the kids forget the horrors they've seen even if its for one night.</p><p>He was also enraptured by the over the top violence in some of the films, a guilty pleasure that he developed. Watching things explode so vividly never got old, it also helped him think of new ways to level that vile Signal Tower. </p><p>The Architect considered the box of DVDs a good find, even if he never felt comfortable with the sounds of static the TV let out.      </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. From One Caretaker To Another</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect and RK go to the depths of The Maw in search of scrap metal and resources, they meet an old resident of the vessel thought to have been dead.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to Willow for the suggestion for this chapter, really helped me with brainstorming an idea for this chapter while tackling a problem I've overlooked. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was no shortage of metal on The Maw, The Architect could close his eyes and wander randomly before appearing near a heap of scrap of metal. The only thing that stopped him from collecting and working to his heart's content was the needs of the children, cooking their meals and ensuring they bathe and sleep at appropriate times. He certainly wasn't unhappy with this, quite the opposite really. There was an unshakeable sense of ease and joy that surged in his heart as he saw to their needs, a smile would spread over his face at the sound of their laughter, his voice would drop to a low and soft pitch as he comforted the occasional child plagued by night terrors. These instincts came as naturally as breathing to The Architect after looking after them for weeks. It made his day to see the children so content even if he felt absolutely drained.</p><p>That's why he was so excited about going to the depths of The Maw, most of his daily chores have been completed, leaving him with ample free time. The amount of metal that was just sitting down there made him shake with barely suppressed joy, oh the things he could make with such a haul. He could finally upgrade some of the damaged parts of the hull, reinforce the support system, hell could even install a lift or small elevator for the children. He got a bit anxious after seeing them climb furniture and wooden planks just to reach certain things, this was a much safer alternative. He was surprised that none of them have gotten hurt yet.</p><p>"Hey! Mr. Architect! Where are you going?" The curious voice of RK snapped him out of his thoughts, making him look down at the sweater wearing boy. RK's head was tilted slightly at the sight of the large bag the man was carrying. "I'm heading to the depths to get some things I need to build stuff." The Architect answered with a small smile, making the boy's eyes widen behind his bangs before he excitedly asked. "Can I come along? You told me you'd let me explore more, remember?" He did remember, he had let him explore some portions of The Maw that he knew were absolutely safe. Even then he would track RK closely through the security cameras from his observation room. The only functioning cameras in the depths only revealed its submerged state along with the scrap he could salvage, he wasn't keen on taking the boy down there.</p><p>"I also remember telling you I'd only allow you to explore if it was safe." He sternly responded, making the boy pout for a moment before he suddenly smiled. The Architect didn't like that one bit, the boy was as cunning as a snake when he wanted to be. Couldn't hold a candle to Six, little girl seemed strangely adept at talking her way out of trouble whenever he found her doing something she shouldn't, mainly raiding the pantry at midnight. "What if I go with you then? You could make sure I'm safe while collecting the stuff you need." RK offered, looking up at the man innocently. That... wasn't a bad idea, he could keep an eye on him as long as he was close. He slowly nodded, quickly speaking before the boy could get too excited.</p><p>"You will listen to me closely and will not leave my sight even for a second. Most of the area is submerged in water so we need to be careful, do you understand?" The boy stiffened slightly at the mention of water, The Architect would have to do something about that fear at some point in the future. RK quickly gave him a thumbs up and nodded, prompting the man to pick him up and set him on his shoulder before continuing his trek to the depths.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect grunted as he slowly pushed a heavy door open, the metal frame groaning as he forced it open. He carefully examined the room, frowning when he saw the sorry state of his surroundings. The walls were rusting and untold amounts of furniture was floating in the submerged portions of the room, they only had a few small walkways they could use without getting wet. He set RK down on the floor as he approached a heap of damaged furniture, moving some things aside and grinning at what he found beneath. Metal gleamed back up at him, untouched by the water and perfectly malleable for the skilled creator. He carefully deposited them in his bag, trying not to cut himself as RK wandered around the room. The boy stayed far from the edges as he looked around the room.</p><p>It was different from the rest of The Maw, there was no attempt to keep this place clean and proper. This entire section of vessel seemed to be abandoned without a single sense of regret or care, he couldn't imagine the fate of anyone left behind. He quickly banished those thoughts as he pulled a small wooden doll out of a pile of broken toys and furniture. It was surprisingly intact with little signs of damage besides some chipped wood here and there. He held it up to his face, examining the expressionless face that stared back at him. RK nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a crash in the next room, looking over at The Architect to call out to him, only to find the man looking over sharply. He had a hand on his belt, ghosting over the handle of his hammer while he slowly motioned the boy to stay low.</p><p>RK wordlessly complied as the man advanced towards the door, slowly turning the handle and pushing it open. His hammer was held in a tight grip as he looked around the room, it was almost completely filled with water with only small wooden flooring left untouched. He could barely see a disconnected TV at the other end of the room, he looked to his left, grimacing at the sight of a body resting on a reclining chair floating close by. He slowly approached, noting the weak rise and fall of the persons chest as they breathed. He was able to see the waterlogged gown and faint grey hair that dotted the persons scalp, A woman, an old one at that if the wrinkles were anything to go by. He slowly put his tool back on his belt, she wasn't going to be posing a serious threat anytime soon.</p><p>RK slowly peered into the room, gasping quietly when he caught sight of the old woman sitting in the chair. Years of alterations caused by living in these watery depths couldn't hide her identity from the misty eyed boy. "G-Granny?" RK called out softly, making the man look at him with confused eyes, completely missing the way the old woman's head perked up at the sound of the boy's voice. "You know this woman, RK?" The Architect asked, making the boy nod slowly as he walked over to him. "She used to take care of us before the Janitor came along, she made most of our toys and clothes while looking after us. We always wondered what happened to her, we just thought she was killed by The Lady." He spoke, making the man's eyes widen before a old, croaking voice behind him made him freeze.</p><p>"Death would have been kinder, that spiteful witch was everything but..." The weak voice belonged to the withered Granny, who was staring at the two before her intently. The Architect fought the urge to brandish his hammer, the only adult he's ever heard speak was The Ferryman and he was a proper bastard. He wasn't used to holding a conversation with adults. "That's something we can agree on, you'll be happy to know The Lady is no longer amongst the living." He spoke carefully, watching the old woman closely for the slightest sign of hostile intent. He was momentarily shocked when the old woman began to cackle loudly, holding her stomach as she slowly composed herself. "That makes all of the years wasting away down here almost bearable, how'd she go? You have to tell me." She said with a small smile.</p><p>Telling a possibly victimized person how their tormentor died? He'd be a scumbag for refusing such a request. "Got a screwdriver through the gut and a mirror full of magic to the face. One of the kids did her in after that." He refused to mention how Six dispatched The Lady, didn't think Granny here would appreciate hearing one of her former kids tear into another persons neck like a wild animal. A large grin threatened to split her wrinkled face in two as she laughed once more. "Killed by one of the kids she hated so much? That's fantastic! I wish I was there to see it." She spoke before falling into a fit of wet coughs, making the man wince. She slowly recovered, donning a warm smile as she looked at RK. "I guess I can settle with the sight of of one of my little angels." She said softly, making the boy smile back.</p><p>"We've missed you dearly, Granny. I made sure to keep this sweater nice and clean just like you always said!" RK said while puffing out his chest so she could see, making her laugh softly at the sight. " I can see that, I'm glad you still held on to that old thing." She said happily, making the boy grin before she turned her attention to the man awkwardly standing at the side. "Who might you be, dear? I don't remember ever seeing you around before." She asked, making the man glance at her for a moment before he sighed softly.</p><p>"Folks call me The Architect, I'm the one responsible for making this terrible place and by extension, your prison here." It was still hard to say that without feeling some guilt, he couldn't wipe away years of suffering and fear no matter how hard he worked. It had taken him a long time to accept the children's reasoning for allowing him to stay, he was grateful for their understanding, but still felt like he was unworthy of it. "You created this place? I can hardly believe that such a man could create such a place willingly." The Granny spoke, making him look over at her with wide eyes. He was about to retort when she spoke again. "No monster frees a bunch of kids while toppling the most vile piece of work in this place, no monster does that... a thinking man does that, a man filled with regret and guilt." She smiled kindly at him, any response he had died in his throat.</p><p>He shook his head a bit and chuckled quietly. "I can see now why the children were so understanding, they had an amazing role model." The Granny waved his kind words aside as she spoke. "They needed a good role model in such a terrible place, I was more than happy to care for them. It makes me incredibly happy to know someone else is looking after them now, I should be thanking you." The Architect smiled softly, delighted to speak to a likeminded person after dealing with a ship filled with monsters. This was a refreshing change of pace for the man. "I'm glad I can look after them despite everything I've done, words cannot express how happy they make me. I only wish I could help you." His words made RK smile warmly behind him, it was no secret to the children how much The Architect cared for them. He would spend nights making things to improve their way of life around The Maw, installing safety railings around perilous walkways and edges. He was always willing to drop whatever he was doing to spend time with them, playing games and reading them stories from the library.</p><p>The man was incredibly patient as well, no matter how many times a child or two entered his room in tears from a nightmare, he would always scoop them up into his comforting embrace and console them. It wasn't uncommon to see a few kids leisurely relaxing in his room as he worked in the morning. The Granny simply reclined into her chair and smiled. "You've done enough for me, dear. Knowing that those kids are living a happy life is more than what I could ever wish for. Don't feel too bad about little old me, I don't have long for this world anyhow..." Her words made the man frown, he noticed her labored breaths when he first walked in. Those weren't the breaths of a blissfully sleeping person, it was the breaths of someone slowly giving in to the march of time. He's seen animals breath like that when he was evading The Hunter in the forest with his friends, stumbling into old rabbit holes with old bunnies breathing their last, it was saddening then and it was saddening now.</p><p>"I'm glad that you decided to do the right thing despite how easy the alternative would have been, especially given everything you've been through." Her words made The Architect raise a curious brow, making her scoff a bit. "I've seen eyes like yours before, on children who had to do terrible things to survive and get by. Even in a body like yours I can still see the eyes of a frustrated, scared child trying to make sense of the world around him, your doing the best you can and that's okay. No one could ask for anything beyond that." Her words made the man look at her in astonishment. He had a mountain of doubts in his head about going to the mainland, he knew how dangerous it would be in the Pale City. He worried if it was the correct course of action, if he could keep the children safe once they arrived.</p><p>Too many unknown variables lied shrouded in that fog cloaked city, it frustrated him to no end. At least he had a full deck of cards when he was overtaking The Maw, he knew what to expect and planned accordingly with the information he had. The Pale City was different, he knew nothing besides how The Hunter operated and hunted, he would be going in blind and that terrified him. Hearing such reassuring words made him breath a bit easier, he had no choice but to move forward and plan for any and all possible scenarios. He noticed how the Granny seemed a bit less focused, trying to control her breathing despite how weary she looked. "Thank you for the kind words, I'll be sure to take care of these angels of yours and give them the happy future you envisioned." His words made a small smile blossom over the older woman's face. RK slowly spoke after him.</p><p>"Thank you for all the nice things you've done for us, no one is going to forget you anytime soon. We're really happy with The Architect and get to eat a lot of good food everyday! He even lets us sleep with him when we have scary nightmares and always plays with us whenever we ask..." It was getting harder for the boy to speak, his tears made the next words come out slowly as he tried to continue. "...He's just as nice as you. None of us are going to forget how happy you made us and we're going to miss you a lot..." He was about to keep going when he noticed how still the Granny's body had become, making him look at The Architect as he shakily asked. "Is she...?" He couldn't find the strength to say dead. The man leaned over and placed two fingers on her neck, looking over at the boy with a sad frown before slowly shaking his head.</p><p>RK sniffled for a moment, wiping the tears out of his eyes as he fought the urge to cry. The dam broke when The Architect picked him up and held him close, making the boy sob as he tightly clung to his guardian with shaking shoulders. The man gently rubbed his back as he cried, letting the boy drain his sorrow through tears as he looked at the body of The Granny. RK calmed down enough to ask.</p><p>"Do you think she heard me...?" He looked up at The Architect with a slight sniffle, his teary eyes desperately searching for an answer. The man smiled sadly before motioning to the still form of The Granny. RK looked over at her, smiling a bit at what he saw. She had a wide and happy smile on her face, her hands clasped together over her chest. She looked like she was calmly sleeping, dreaming of something wonderful as she rested. The Architect gently patted his head as he spoke.</p><p>"I think she did, and she's wearing that same smile all the way up to heaven."       </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Restless Nights And Bad Dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not every night on The Maw is a peaceful one, traumatic and near death experiences make even the most bravest children restless. The Architect does his best to comfort those that visit him late at night.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to North for the suggestion for this chapter, I'm really enjoying these ideas you guys come up with. Hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect narrowed his eyes as he slowly tightened a screw into a small crossbow, adjusting the lamp above him for a moment before resuming his work. He's been working on this for some time, it was coming along well enough. All he needed was a reliable rope to help cock the weapon. It would serve him well once they reached the mainland, the land would still be filled with game to hunt. He wasn't sure when they'd stumble on another amazing stockpile like a vessel filled with food and supplies, a crossbow would help bag some game. He had briefly pondered making a shotgun or hunting rifle, some books here had information on them but...</p><p>He heard the roar of a shotgun, the slick feeling of blood splashing over his back as his friend screamed in terror. Running and running until-.</p><p>He shook his head, frowning deeply. A crossbow would suffice, no need to complicate things.</p><p>Night terrors were rare for him, it was the reason why he was awake at this hour. The Architect could rationalize his reasons for abandoning his trapped friend, he could convince himself that those kids with spears would have killed him if he didn't get them first. It did little to ease him because he could still remember those events vividly and his mind was keen on keeping it that way. He would wake up to the deafening blast of a shotgun or the garbled cry of one of those kids he killed, screaming into his ears about how much of a murderer he was, no better than The Hunter. He idly realized that his right hand was shaking, making the tightening of the next screw quite difficult. He set the screwdriver down and turned off the lamp, standing up as he sighed deeply. He had just sat down on his bed when he heard his door slowly creak open.</p><p>He looked over to see a boy with an orange cloak slowly peek inside, his pointy hood covered his eyes as he looked up at The Architect. He looked hesitant to enter when he saw the tired look in the man's eyes, The Architect noticed this and motioned the boy to come in with a small smile. "You can come in, I wasn't sleeping or anything." He assured softly. The boy slowly stepped inside, walking over to the man who slowly lowered his hand. The boy stepped onto his hand and allowed himself to be lifted up onto the bed as the man asked. "What is your name, child?" The boy sat down and got comfortable for a moment before he slowly spoke.</p><p>"Most kids just call me The Refugee Boy." The Architect nodded, noting the small accent the boy had before he gently looked at him. "I see, is something wrong?" He asked kindly, making the boy frown as he stared down at the mattress. The man waited patiently, this wasn't the first time this has happened and he was well versed in the mannerisms of fearful children refusing to open up. Many have come in late at night with that same frown and downcast eyes, either crying their hearts out or silently crawling into his arms to forget whatever nightmare that disturbed them. He allowed this with nary a word if they chose not to speak, if they needed an ear to vent to they would speak, if not he was content with being used as an oversized teddy bear. The Refugee Boy finally answered.</p><p>"I had a nightmare about my sister and The North Wind." His frown deepened as he scooted closer to The Architect. He's heard tales of the entity, nothing else could really describe a sentient and incredibly hostile gust of wind that killed whatever fell prey to its lethal gusts. Ragged children regaled him and his group when they stumbled upon them in those dark woods, telling of a terrible wind that carried the skeletons of the dead. Like every other monster in this world, it delighted in the suffering of children, making The Hunter sound like a nuisance in comparison.</p><p>He never slept the same after hearing those stories, they barely evaded one man and his hounds. How do you outrun a malicious force that commanded the very wind?</p><p>"We had just run away from our destroyed village, The North Wind at our heels. Everything was the same, we stumbled into a barn and hid as it taunted us. I didn't crawl out to meet it, I stayed inside and clutched my sister tight as it screamed with rage. It tore the roof straight off the barn and..." The boy hesitated as he felt tears slide down his cheeks, clenching his fists before continuing. "It ripped my sister away, her screams made my ears hurt so much and I couldn't look away as it swept her away. I covered my ears to block out the sounds that followed along with its twisted laughter. No Ferryman came to get me, The North Wind came back and threw my sister's skeleton at my feet. It left me alone with these parting words. "Where is your courage now?"</p><p>The Refugee boy shook as he finished, fighting the urge to cry as The Architect looked down at him with pity. How was a child supposed to fight against such a force? You could hide from people and animals, but not from something that could easily destroy anything in its path. He was about to speak when the boy suddenly shouted, surprising the man. "That's not how it happened! I got away with the help of The Ferryman and my sister was already..." The boy wiped the tears trailing down his cheeks with his sleeve, letting out a soft gasp when the man pulled him into a soft hug. He looked up to find the man staring at the wall with a small frown. "I had a dream like that, I think...our brains can't help but imagine what could have happened despite how terrifying things might be." The boy listened intently as he spoke, leaning into his embrace.</p><p>"I always think about what could have happened in the woods that day. The Hunter chasing us could have easily shot me, his dogs could have ripped me apart and I could have easily fallen into his traps." His frown deepened. "It plays out differently every time, never the same as how it actually happened." He looked down at the tearful boy for a moment. "I think that we dream of these things because we spend so much time trying to ignore it when we're awake, and when we finally fall asleep, they creep into our dreams. They show us all the scary things that could have happened and leave us shaking. I like to look at them differently." The Refugee Boy tilted his head slightly at his words, making the man smile a bit.</p><p>"I use them as reminders, things could have been worse. I could have died and never given you a Maw to retreat to with The Ferryman. As much as I loathe this place and my hand it making it, its' the only reason you're alive today." The Architect spoke softly, letting the boy ponder his words for a moment before he added. "I don't remember my friends in their last moments of life, I remember them fondly as we played and tried to catch baby rabbits to pet. My nightmares won't let me forget how they died, but I can at least hold on to the good memories I had with them while I'm awake." He gently rubbed the boy's back when he felt him shake against him, his words muffled by The Architect's shirt.</p><p>"I miss her so much..." The boy mumbled as the man held him close. "It's natural to miss someone, especially family. As hard as it may sound, you can't let her passing drag you down every time you think about her. You should think about the happy things you used to do with her, did you two ever play in your village?" He asked, making the boy think for a moment before a little smile wormed its way onto his face. "Well... we used to scare the other kids by hiding and jumping out at them. That was always pretty funny." The man nodded slowly with a smile, adding his own little tale to encourage him further. "I remember this one time when we thought it would be a good idea to try and ride a squirrel." The boy looked up at him with disbelieving eyes, making him chuckle a bit.</p><p>"I had the same look on my face, the tall boy that led us assured me he could tame one. Poor guy never managed to hang on long enough to do anything, they just threw him off and scurried back up the trees." The Refugee Boy quietly laughed at the thought, the sight of a boy trying to tame a squirrel was incredibly humorous. He couldn't really picture The Architect trying something like that without some convoluted way of trapping the squirrel. He was snapped out of the funny visualization by The Architect's soft words. "Remember those you miss fondly, don't tarnish their memory with tears and sadness. Your sister loved you dearly and I doubt she'd want to see you so sad. Live and smile so she can see her darling brother at his best. Whenever you feel sad, remember all the good times you shared, all the times you made her laugh and smile, hold on to those memories tightly. Eventually that will be the only thing you can remember about her."</p><p>The Refugee Boy felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes before he blinked them away and shakily sighed. He was tired of reliving those terrible moments over and over again. "I'll try..." He spoke slowly, making the man smile as he gently patted the boy's head. "That's all I ask of you." He said before laying down on the bed, letting out a tired yawn that was soon mirrored by the boy at his side. The Architect was about to pull the covers up when the boy quietly asked. "Can I sleep here tonight?" A glance revealed the boy shyly looking up at him, hoping the man would allow him to stay,</p><p>How can a child be that cute when only half of their face was visible? He'd be a monster if he refused.</p><p>"Of course." He replied, happily allowing the boy to snuggle up to his side and get comfortable. He pulled the covers over himself and the tired boy before closing his eyes. He was thankful for a dreamless sleep, all that talk of dreams and nightmares were irritating enough.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect fought the urge to curse as he tried to loosen a rusty screw from a large piece of scrap metal, grumbling under his breath as the wrench slipped from his hand for the 20th time. Piece of crap has been giving him trouble all damn day! He tried damn near every wrench in his arsenal, he shook his tired hand and glared at the rusty annoyance before walking to his cabinet. He grabbed a blowtorch and walked back over to his bench as he smirked a bit, experimentally igniting the tool twice before heating up the irritating screw.</p><p>"Can't be tight if it's a liquid..."</p><p>The soft cough behind him made him turn around, spotting the small form of Six peeking into his room. She was looking at him with a tilted head before slowly speaking. "Should I leave you to angrily whisper at metal and come back later?" The question made him huff before he turned off the blowtorch and set it down. Rusted bastard was lucky, he'd melt it later. "No, no, come in. I just finished and was about to scream at some plywood, but I can postpone that for now." He gave the girl a small grin as she giggled a bit, her face slowly returning to its usual stoic look as she walked in. The man frowned for a moment, Six was usually a little more lighthearted than this. She wasn't exactly a social butterfly, but she had showed more emotion in the past few weeks while interacting with the other children. To see her so stone faced worried him.</p><p>"Do you think I'm a monster, Mr. Architect?" The question slammed into his gut like a runaway freight train, making him blink in surprise as he looked at the yellow raincoat wearing girl. Her face remained the same, but he could see doubt and fear lingering in her eyes, her bangs did little to hide it. "No, not at all Six. What brought this on?" He asked softly as he kneeled down in front of the girl. She frowned a bit, looking up at him for a moment before speaking again. "You're not just saying that to be kind, right?" She had pointedly ignored his question, something that did not go unnoticed by the concerned man. "Of course not, you've done nothing to be labeled as a monster. Why would you think differently." She was giving him that same look when they first met, searching for the slightest hint of deception.</p><p>She sighed when she found none, gripping the hem of her raincoat tightly as she spoke. "I was... experimenting with that power I got from The Lady." The Architect sneered at the mention of that terrible woman, refocusing on Six as she continued. "I thought I was alone at the time, I had just finished draining a leech when I heard something move behind me. I thought it was another leech so I was about to do the same thing before I realized it was Eve and Seth. I quickly stopped before I could hurt them but..." Six frowned for a moment, balling her hands into fists. "They looked so scared, like I was a monster that would kill them at any second. I didn't even get to apologize before they ran off." She finished in a quiet voice laced in sadness. Six had been warming up to the two kids, Seth was a nice boy and it was great to talk to another girl for once.</p><p>She felt a bit angry that they would just run off like that, what type of friends did that? They could have at least heard her out! Just thinking about it made her want to shout in frustration. It didn't help that she was plagued with nightmares where she was stalking the halls of The Maw, draining the life of anything she found with a carefree smile. She shuddered at the memory, watching the people she called friends wither away before her, The Architect desperately gasping for life while glaring at her with such a pure look of contempt. The looks of shock and betrayal on RK's face nearly made her tear up, she's never been so happy to wake from a dream before in her life. She blinked a bit when she felt herself get lifted up by a gentle hand, safely deposited on The Architect's bed as he spoke.</p><p>"People have a tendency to fear things they don't understand, Six. Especially when it shares similarities with other things that may have hurt them." The Architect never really put a regulation on her usage of those dark powers, simply advising her to do it when no one was around. That miasma was suffocating and oppressive, anyone would show fear at the face of such an uncomfortable feeling, especially when it was being wielded by someone they considered a friend. He would have to sit them down and talk about this in the future, the poor girl didn't deserve to be ostracized and think herself a monster because of this small mishap.</p><p>"You played a pivotal role in the liberation of this vessel, they won't fear you like this forever. Give them some time to process what they saw and we'll all talk about it." He assured her, his words did little to extinguish the doubt in her eyes, she was still terribly tense as well. He sighed and sat down on the bed before gently patting his lap, Six hesitated for a moment before climbing on. She allowed him to remove her hood and soothingly stroke her hair, closing her eyes with a soft sigh as he spoke once more. "Do you think me a monster?" He asked casually, making her frown slightly. "No, I might have before but I don't think you're a monster." He hummed lowly at her response. "Why? I made this floating prison and subjected countless children to a cruel fate. Why am I not a monster to you?" His question made her furrow her brows as she answered.</p><p>"Because you chose to save us instead of sitting by and doing nothing. You had good intentions despite making this place, even feeling guilty when most wouldn't." The answer came to her as naturally as breathing, making him smile warmly before he asked one last question.</p><p>"Did you not have good intentions when you killed the guests? The Lady?" Six looked up at him, making him move his hand away from her head as she spoke heatedly. "Of course I did! They would have killed you and RK If I didn't do something! I had to-." She stopped when she realized what she was saying, making The Architect tilted his head with a smile as he waited for her to continue. He gently patted her head when he realized she wouldn't continue, speaking up slowly. "I fail to see how you are a monster then, Six. A monster delights in the suffering it inflicts on others regardless if its children or adults, they don't help liberate prisons or make friends with kids. They don't talk about their dreams of opening a flower shop or hug Nome's so lovingly. They certainly don't kill to save the lives of others."</p><p>The Architect gazed down at the girl, speaking confidently. "You are no monster, Six. I certainly don't see you as one and I doubt anyone else does, give Seth and Eve some time. They will still see you as a friend, they would have come to me if they thought otherwise." His words made her slowly nod in agreement, a small smile now rested on her face as she pondered his words. Seth and Eve would have ran to The Architect if they thought she was dangerous, maybe she did just scare them after all. Her powers were unsettling even to her. "Thank you for listening to me." She said softly while looking down at her lap, making the man smile. "Anytime, my dear girl. Is there anything else you needed?" He asked.</p><p>She pondered it for a moment before leaning back onto his stomach. "Could you keep stroking my hair please? It feels really nice." She asked with a small, timid voice, an uncommon thing for the straightforward girl. He wordlessly nodded, stroking her hair once more much to her satisfaction. A relaxed smile rested on her face as she happily leaned into his touch. He chuckled a bit to himself, looking down at the content girl with a small smile.</p><p>"I'm starting to think I spoil you kids a little too much."</p><p>"I fail to see the problem with that." Came the relaxed response from Six.</p><p>"I didn't expect you to."</p><p>The Architect wasn't sure when he fell asleep that night, simply enjoying the presence of the small girl as she enjoyed the affectionate treatment. He only remembered resting his eyes for a moment as Six rested on his chest, drifting off to the feeling of the child curling up to join him as he fell asleep.     </p><p> </p><p>        </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Making Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect gets Six, Seth, and Eve to sit down and talk to each other, a small explanation afterwards lead to a new title for the man.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Six gave the two kids in front of her a small glare, making them shift about nervously as she stared at them with crossed arms. Seth and Eve were trying their best to make themselves smaller as The Architect hummed a tune to himself from his workbench, melting that infernal rusty screw with a wide smile. Six knew she shouldn't be so angry and should probably say something, but she couldn't help it when she saw them again. They still had those terrified eyes despite how calmly The Architect explained what they were doing today, what exactly was so scary about talking to a friend? Her angry thoughts were interrupted as The Architect spoke up.</p><p>"Ease up on the glare, Six. We are here to talk to each other remember?"</p><p>"I'm not glaring at them!"</p><p>"So, If I turn around right now, you won't be glaring at Seth and Eve?"</p><p>"... Well, they still haven't said anything!"</p><p>The Architect let out a soft sigh before putting the blowtorch down, turning around to face the kids. "Seth, Eve, you two aren't in trouble. Six here is just a little hurt about your reaction to her little secret. A secret that you two found out by spying on her in what could have been a dangerous area." His tone turned a bit stern at the end, making the two kids look down as he continued. "I know her powers might not feel pleasant and seem scary, but that is no excuse for treating your friend in such a manner that makes her think less of herself." They briefly looked surprise, seemingly not knowing the damage inflicted by running away from their friend so quickly. The Architect decided to hammer the last nail in.</p><p>"Do you know what she asked me when she came to see me?" The question made Six frown and look down as the other two kids looked up at the man intently. "Do you think I'm a monster?" Seth and Eve flinched, guilt gripped their hearts and was clear to see on their face as they glanced over at Six. The girl was gripping the hem of her yellow raincoat, refusing to meet their gaze as The Architect spoke once more. "You must remember that above all, you are all friends and will need to rely on each other in the future. I won't be alive forever, you will need to learn to look after yourselves and each other." The kids all frowned deeply at his words, he hated bringing this up but they had to understand. He would gladly take care of them until he closed his eyes for good, but he refused to leave this world without teaching them to be independent while cooperating with each other.</p><p>No one said a word for a moment, the silence was eventually broken by Seth. "I'm sorry..." His voice was low and filled with remorse, making Six tilt her head up as he spoke. " I know it probably doesn't help or excuse anything, but that power was just... really scary. We felt something like it before whenever The Lady came down, it just brought back bad memories." The boy explained while Eve nodded slowly, slowly speaking afterwards. "Even if it was somehow that witch's power, we have no reason to believe you would ever hurt us. You were always nice to us, even when you didn't really feel like talking or playing with anybody else. We shouldn't have treated you like that." She said as Six raised her head to look at them, her frown was less prominent and she was a little misty eyed. The sight made the two kids feel terrible, knowing that they were the only reason she had such a look on her face.</p><p>"We don't think you're a monster, it was really wrong of us to just run away like that. I can understand if you won't forgive us immediately, but we really are sorry." Seth said honestly, making Six sigh for a moment before she glanced at The Architect. The man simply gave her a small nod, prompting her to speak. "I'm not sure when exactly I can forgive you... but I accept your apology. I know my powers aren't exactly... pleasant, but you guys shouldn't have just tailed me like that." Seth and Eve slowly nodded, relief and hope in their eyes. Six couldn't find it in herself to stay too mad, she was still pretty peeved, but it was eased by their heartfelt apology. "I'll be happy as long as we can talk normally again." Her simple request made the two kids nod quickly, making her smile a bit.</p><p>The Architect clapped his hands together with a satisfied smile. "I'm glad you guys managed to make up, reading those parenting books have been incredibly helpful..." He meant to mutter that last part to himself, but Six still heard him. "Parenting?" She asked, tilting her head as the man blinked a bit. "Think of it as a guide on how to care for children, apparently Mothers and Fathers use these books to help them raise children." He pulled out one of the books, the cover showing a man happily letting a child ride on his shoulders. It was titled 'The Expectant Father', The Architect had begun to read such books when he realized how unprepared he was to care for so many children. He didn't want to make some colossal mistake that earned him the scorn of the children, so he consulted the library for any helpful books he could find.</p><p>He was surprised to find anything at all, considering what type of place The Maw was.</p><p>"What's a Father?" Seth asked in confusion, making The Architect's eyes widen for a moment. He almost forgot that most of these kids don't even remember their time with their parents, perhaps being discarded before any memories could even be made. The thought of such abandonment made his stomach knot with furious anger, he couldn't imagine leaving any of these kids twisting in the wind. He had no memories of his own parents, never giving it much thought when he had more pressing matters to worry about. He considered his old group to be his family, they taught him everything he knew and gave him fond memories of laughs and warm nights wrapped securely in their embrace whenever the nights got cold. He missed them dearly, he would give anything to see them again for even a second.</p><p>"It's a man who helps take care of you at birth and makes you happy along with a woman, a Mother." He briefly explained, making the kids ponder his words as he put the book down and continue his work on the screw from hell. "You could also call them mom and dad for short." He added. Eve spoke up afterwards. "So, we could call a man who's taken care of us the most our dad?" She asked, making him nod absentmindedly as he answered. "I suppose, it sounds like it would fit the description perfectly." Eve nodded to herself, satisfied with the answer before she realized how late it was getting. Today has been a bit draining and the thought of laying down in her warm bed made her yawn loudly. The kids began to leave The Architect's room, Seth waved at the man as they left, saying their farewells.</p><p>"Goodnight dad, try not to stay up too late!"</p><p>"I won't, don't you kids worry-."</p><p>The Architect nearly set his table on fire as he stumbled with the blowtorch, swiftly turning it off as his brain caught up with the parting boy's words. Did he just...? No, no, he probably just misheard him or something. The man laughed to himself for a minute, letting that fluttering feeling of joy leave his heart as he put the torch away. That little discussion left him yearning for sleep, he could continue his work tomorrow. He crawled into bed with that final thought, soon falling asleep with those words bouncing around his head.</p><p>-</p><p>He hadn't misheard the boy, much to his glee and subsequent shock. Apparently the three kids shared what they learned with the rest of the kids in the following morning, leading them to use this new knowledge in earnest.</p><p>"Good morning dad!"</p><p>"Thanks for the food, dad!"</p><p>"My toy broke, could you please fix it for me dad?"</p><p>"Goodnight dad!"</p><p>The Architect couldn't wipe the stupid smile off his face to save his life, his days were filled with similar calls and interactions.  He never imagined that a single word could bring him so much joy, it was honestly a little overwhelming. He had tried to assure them that they didn't have to call him that, that Mr. Architect worked just as fine. It still didn't feel quite right to be called dad after all the terrible things he was responsible for, guilt had a terrible way of lingering despite their forgiveness. This seemed to encourage them to continue if anything, something his overjoyed heart appreciated greatly. It was hard to argue further when they affectionately called him dad while looking up at him with those wide, innocent eyes. They never seemed bothered about the fact that some of them had no recollection of their original parents, seemingly content with regarding him as their Father figure.</p><p>Him, a Father figure, the thought alone made that familiar pleasant warmth spread over his body. It was... incredibly heartwarming to be considered as such by all these children. It made him strive to do more, walking about The Maw with a spring in his step as he addressed any problems that reared its head. He walked back into his room after adjusting their course, blinking in surprise when he found RK sitting on his bed. The boy looked up at him before smiling happily. "Hey RK, what brings you here?" He asked as he walked inside, removing his vest as the sweater wearing boy spoke. "I was having trouble sleeping, so I decided to come here." The man hummed a bit "Nightmares?" He asked, making the boy frown in silence. He could easily guess what transpired in that dream, his fear of the water has hardly diminished. The Architect wordlessly slipped into the bed and patted his side, allowing RK to eagerly lean into him as he gently rubbed his back.</p><p>"Hey dad?"</p><p>He wasn't going to get used to that anytime soon. "Yeah?"</p><p>"How come you're never scared? You used to live like us in that forest, right?"</p><p>The Architect sighed softly, rubbing his neck slightly as he began to speak. "I did, I lived every day in that forest wondering if I would live to see the next sunrise. Having my friends slowly dwindle was the most terrifying thing, because I knew either I would be next, or I would be alone. Both options left me terrified beyond belief." RK couldn't picture the usually calm and collected man ever being consumed by fear, he always had a plan and worked effectively to see it through without a hint of hesitation. He wished he could be so decisive, he hated how easily his body clammed up at the sight of those deep depths. "I only survived because I was able to work past my fear, the thought of dying alone in that forest filled me with a haunting dread that inspired me to survive by any means." A dark voice reminded him that luck also contributed to his survival, he could have easily been turned into a red smear instead of his two friends. His abandonment of his trapped friend also brought him precious time, bet she was happy to see him slip away while The Hunter swept her away.</p><p>He ignored that stupid voice, his guilt could wait, he had a troubled boy to console. "I was afraid when we got to the kitchen, fearing that the Chefs would kill me or catch you and Six. I was afraid when we got to the dining hall, hoping that those gluttonous monsters wouldn't lay a finger on you two. I was downright <strong>terrified</strong> when we entered The Lady's quarters, my heart pounding in my chest when I heard Six scream in the other room, I don't remember a time where I moved that fast before." RK hung on to his every word with wide eyes, he could hardly believe what he was hearing. He never saw that emotion flash in The Architect's eyes once, the fact that he dived into these situations, especially against The Lady, with such stifling fear was baffling. The man looked down at him with a soft smile as he added. "Fear will always be apart of you, you can't just switch it off or something. You will always be scared when faced with something potentially dangerous, nothing will change that." RK felt himself frown before the man held a finger up.</p><p>"But you can learn to get used to it, push through it to do what you must. Be that survival or conquering what scares you the most. If you can do that, fear will only be an unpleasant feeling and motivator instead of a detriment." He explained, making the boy mull his words over. The thought of willingly confronting his fears was terrifying, especially if he was forced to do it alone. He wasn't alone though... not anymore, he looked up at The Architect and softly asked. "Would you help me? I'm tired of being afraid of deep water, I want to get over this stupid fear." The man smiled at his words, this was a promising step in the right direction. He had a plan in place for this moment, he just didn't know how to get RK to agree to it. "I'd be more than happy to help you, just let me know when you want to start." He said warmly, making the boy nod before he buried his face into his side, muffling his next words somewhat.</p><p>"Thanks dad..."</p><p>The Architect smiled and gently stroked RK's hair as he felt the boy start to drift off "Anytime my dear boy, now try to get some rest." He said softly as he felt the boy relax against him. He carefully pulled the covers over them and tried to fall asleep as well, closing his eyes as he planned out the best way to help RK cope with his fear.</p><p>Dad... he could get used to that, he didn't think he'd mind being called that anytime soon. That warm and fuzzy feeling that formed in his heart was much too pleasant to give up.     </p><p>  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Blessing Of Caffeine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect gets a taste of coffee for the first time, the children grow concerned when they continue to find him wide awake late at night.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to The_Last_Nightwalker for the prompt for this chapter, I really liked the idea and couldn't help but write about it. I hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect groaned as he slowly crawled out of bed, mindful of the scurrying Nome's that got his things ready for the day. He blindly grabbed his tool belt and fastened it before slipping his vest on. He brushed his teeth with the energy of a zombie, prompting a few Nome's to stack up on the sink and push his arm to help him clean his teeth. He gave the helpful little creatures a small smile as he rubbed their coned heads, delighting in the happy chirps they made before he left his room to begin the day. A quick check on the bridge showed no immediate concerns or obstacles, everything was operating smoothly. </p><p>He marched into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast, his loyal group of Nome's following him inside as he started grabbing ingredients from the pantry. He paused when he opened the cupboard, looking at the red bag inside curiously before grabbing it. It showed a bunch of small brown beans inside a cup, another cup showed a steaming brown beverage being held. The Architect blinked as he read the instructions on how to make this beverage. It was called coffee, apparently it was a good morning beverage for people who worked throughout the day, it could even be enjoyed at night. He shrugged before carefully following the steps on how to make some, he was happy to try something new despite how bad it went the last time.</p><p>Wine really was an acquired taste, he didn't know how those guests just downed bottles of the stuff.</p><p>The Architect had just finished setting the prepared food aside when the coffee machine beeped to his right. He walked over and took the pot of coffee out, eyeing it for a moment before he poured it into a mug. He let it cool somewhat before taking a small sip. His eyes widened slightly as the warm liquid graced his taste buds, he felt much more alert and focused. He didn't even feel tired anymore! He took another sip and let out a happy sigh, quickly getting used to its heat and taste as he got the plates ready for breakfast. This stuff could be enjoyed in numerous ways apparently, he couldn't wait to try them out.</p><p>The children were enjoying their meals as The Architect drank from his mug, occasionally taking a bite from his stack of pancakes as he read through the different types of coffee and what could be added to enhance it. RK noticed how captivated their guardian was and couldn't help but ask. "What are you reading, dad?" The question made the man smile as he responded, never lifting his eyes off the small book. "I'm reading a book about this drink I decided to try out called coffee, helped me get some energy back this morning when I drank some." The boy hummed a bit while Six swallowed her mouthful of pancakes, speaking up as she poured more syrup onto her helping. "You wouldn't need something like that if you would just go to bed at a reasonable hour" She said, making the man sigh a bit.</p><p>"I can't help it sometimes, I have a lot to worry about between guiding this vessel and my own projects, this stuff will help me be more productive during the day so I can sleep earlier." The Architect claimed with a satisfied smile, taking another sip from his mug while the children looked at each other. They have always stumbled upon the restless man working late at night, be that in his room or in the halls with his eye ablaze give him light to work with. If he couldn't sleep immediately, he would work until he was exhausted. Not the healthiest approach, but any attempts to get him to rest were swept aside as he claimed that his work was vital and needed to be done. They barely convinced him to stop working every Saturday to allow his body a chance to rest, something he begrudgingly followed when he found them blocking his door one Saturday morning with stern looks.</p><p>"Well, if it helps you get your work done earlier, I won't complain." Eve said with a small shrug as she finished her food, Seth nodded in agreement besides her as The Architect finished his mug and stood up.</p><p>"Good, now go ahead and clean up. I have to figure out why some of these vents aren't pumping air in properly."</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect spent most of his mornings and nights with a cup of coffee in his hands, taking eager sips as he worked throughout the day. The children hardly saw him without one, some of the nightcrawlers amongst them even claimed they heard the man working well past midnight in his room. This sparked concern but was written off whenever they saw him awake and active in the morning with a wide smile, stirring eggs and cooking bacon in preparation for breakfast. The only other thing they've seen the man drink was water, he hardly touched any other beverage.</p><p>RK stepped out of the bathroom one night with a slight yawn, rubbing his eyes a bit as he sleepily walked back to the nursery. He stopped when he noticed the light coming out of The Architect's room, making him blink as he approached the door. A quick look inside showed the man wide awake, occasionally activating his blowtorch with a welder's mask shielding his face. The boy looked at the clock on the wall and nearly fell over when he saw the time, it was four o'clock in the morning! He waited for the man to turn off the blowtorch before he tried to get his attention. "Dad, DAD!" He shouted, making the man jump slightly in surprise as he looked over at the sweater wearing boy. He quickly smiled. "Oh, hello RK. What's up?" He casually asked, lifting the mask off his face to take a sip from the cup at his side.</p><p>"What's up? Dad, its four in the morning, why are you still awake!?" The boy asked, making the man blink and look at the clock before slowly nodding. "Huh... hardly noticed. I've been working on some projects of mine after I put you guys to bed." He said much to RK's shock. He was quick to point out something important. "You did that at nine, are you saying you've been awake all this time and working?" He asked incredulously, The Architect thought about it for a second before nodding. "I guess so, I hardly noticed the time when I started working." He had been full of energy and his coffee was only helping him, making him focused whenever he felt tired. He's been able to get a lot of work done, he had plenty of traps and snares ready for their arrival to the mainland now! That was one thing off his to do list. RK shook his head in disbelief before speaking up once more.</p><p>"You have to stop drinking that stuff at this time, it can't possibly be healthy to be up at this time with that much energy." The boy said with concern, making The Architect frown a bit before he replied. "It probably isn't, but I've gotten so much work done in the past few days! A few more nights like this and I can finish my projects in good time, allowing me to focus on other things." He proudly claimed, taking a large sip from his warm cup before putting it back down. RK frowned and tilted his head slightly, he never could understand why The Architect spent so many nights awake instead of sleeping. He couldn't imagine himself staying up late at night just to do some chores or something, so how did The Architect do it? It was a habit that stuck with the man all throughout his short childhood.</p><p>He could never sleep soundly once his group was caught by The Hunter, fear and sadness made his mind remain active, flinching at the slightest sound as he burrowed his head into his dirty cloak. He spent those nights working on traps and snares for the next day, keeping his restless mind occupied and focused to drown out the sorrow and loneliness he felt. Despite how safe he was on The Maw, The Architect still refused to sleep, working until his body demanded rest. This brew eliminated that annoying sense of fatigue somewhat, letting him get more things done. "Once I finish my projects, I'll stop drinking coffee, I promise." The man assured the concerned RK, making him frown slightly before he gave him a small nod. The Architect smiled a bit before he stood up, making his way to his bed as he spoke.</p><p>"Head on back to bed, RK. I think I'm going to get some rest myself." The boy was relieved to hear this, walking towards the door before calling out to the man softly.</p><p>"Goodnight dad."</p><p>"Goodnight RK."</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect strolled into the kitchen the next morning, whistling a tune to himself as he opened the cupboard to get his coffee beans for the day. Only to blink when he found it missing, looking around the kitchen before spotting Six standing on the counter with her hands on her hips. "Six, where are my coffee beans?" He asked, making the girl shrug a bit." Don't know, maybe you misplaced them." She replied innocently, making him cross his arms as he stared at the raincoat wearing girl. She held his stare for a moment before she spoke again. "We hid it after RK told us about last night, it was his idea." A shout of disbelief from his left made him look over at a shocked RK who was standing on top of some shelves close to a vent.</p><p>"You weren't supposed to tell him that!"</p><p>"I'm not going to lie to our dad, besides he's not going to find it anyway."</p><p>"You two know I have more than one bag, right?"</p><p>Both children blinked at him before RK stomped his foot angrily while Six looked at him with a smug look, making The Architect sigh loudly as he rubbed his face. "I already agreed to stop drinking coffee once I finish my project, you're acting like I'm some sort of addict or something." He huffed, frowning a bit when both kids regarded him with deadpan looks. "It helps me focus and stay awake! I can stop drinking it easily, I just use it to help me concentrate." His hasty defense was met with doubt as Six spoke again.</p><p>"You need it at four o'clock in the morning too? Really?"</p><p>"It just helps me work, I don't need it to function."</p><p>Six and RK smiled widely. "That's great to hear, so you should be able to go through the day without drinking any coffee." The Architect answered before his brain registered what was just said. "Of course!" He responded while throwing his hands up, slowly frowning when he realized what he just agreed to. The two kids seemed immensely satisfied as they hopped down, grabbing the necessary ingredients for today's breakfast as RK spoke. "Great! Let's get started on breakfast then." He chirped as the man walked over with a slight grumble.</p><p>The day felt like it was moving at a snail's pace for The Architect, he worked on faulty circuits and broken lights with a slight frown.  He yearned for that warm taste of caffeine again, tapping his foot occasionally as he worked to keep his mind off it. He played with the children during playtime, correcting any rough behavior calmly and carefully while Eve drew small hearts on his dress shoes. Her intense look of concentration stopped him from reprimanding her, he had other shoes anyways. He led the children back to the nursery at nine, tucking them in and saying his farewells as they wished him a goodnight.</p><p>Still couldn't wipe that dumb grin off whenever one of them called him dad.</p><p>He worked with less vigor, clicking his tongue in annoyance when his blowtorch sputtered from depleting fuel. He couldn't find the energy to replace the canister, so he set it down and decided to lay down after removing his clothes. He rested his eyes for a moment, deciding to continue his work after a brief rest. He was out like a light in record time.</p><p>-</p><p>Six and RK slowly entered The Architect's room, not really trusting the man to not sneak out and get a cup of joe while they slept. They peered inside just to see the man sleeping, looking more relaxed than any of them have ever seen. The Architect was restless by nature, his face usually set in a slight frown whenever they found him asleep like this. His hands would flex and twitch at times as he tossed and turned. He always looked ready to bolt up at any moment, something they both suspected was a result of his days spent in the forest. This was the first time they've seen him so calm and relaxed, he actually looked like he was sleeping for once. Six smiled softly before she slowly shut the door, trying her best not to make any noise in fear of waking the sleeping man. </p><p>She looked at RK as he spoke. "Guess hiding those beans <strong>was</strong> a good idea." He was grinning smugly at the girl, happy with finally one upping the usually stoic Six. She rolled her eyes in response before walking away. "Congratulations, you were finally right about something." She said with faux enthusiasm, making the boy pout as he walked besides her. He stuffed his hands into his pockets before speaking up once more. "Do you think he'll go back to drinking that stuff anytime soon?" He didn't want the man to stay up at such ludicrous times again, it was very concerning to see the man restlessly working at such an hour. Six merely ruffled his hair with a small smile, making the boy swat her hand away and fix the mess as she answered.</p><p>"After a good night's sleep like that? I doubt it."</p><p>They would come to an agreement after that night, allowing the man his brewed delicacy if he only consumed it in the morning. The Architect was willing to accept this after such a good night of sleep, happy that he wasn't haunted by those phantom feelings of dread that followed him out of that terrible forest.             </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. A Cure To What Ails Ya</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect is feeling sickly one day as he works on The Maw, the children notice this and are quick to help the man as best they can.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to FoxyBriggs for the prompt of this chapter, hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect could count on one hand the number of times he's gotten sick, such a thing was inevitable when you were crawling through a forest while left to the mercy of the elements. He was lucky enough to scrape by those days with runny noses and small coughs, anything worse than that might have made things... problematic. He was blessed with a strong body and immune system now, despite getting such a blessing from that terrible abomination disguised as a signal tower. So he thought nothing of the slight heat he felt after reentering The Maw one day, wiping rain and saltwater off his face as he patted himself down. One of the cameras outside had gone dark, the damn thing was near one of the towers that spewed smog up towards the sky. He was left standing out there in the frigid rain as he carefully calibrated the camera, sailing blind with even a single one of these things offline could be disastrous.</p><p>He removed his raincoat with a huff, sniffling slightly before looking down at his soaked watch. It was getting pretty late and he felt incredibly tired. He visited his room, grabbing some spare clothes before heading into the shower. The Architect greatly enjoyed the warm water that washed over him, making him sigh happily as he washed himself. He exited the shower, shivering slightly despite the steam that rose from his body. He crawled into bed and pulled the covers over himself, frowning briefly to himself as he felt how warm he was, the heat made him shift around uncomfortably before he slowly let sleep claim him.</p><p>-</p><p>Six awoke the next morning with a small yawn, stretching with a soft groan as she stumbled out of her bed. Some of the other kids were still fast asleep while others were quietly conversing with each other. A quick glance at RK's bed revealed the boy still fast asleep and clutching a teddy bear close to his chest. She smiled slightly at the sight before walking over to the bathroom to begin her morning routine. She brushed her teeth with a blank face as the other children began to awaken and enter, she rinsed her yellow toothbrush and mouth before exiting the room. She made her way to the kitchen with devious eyes, hoping to secure an early breakfast from their guardian by arriving before anyone else.</p><p>He would refuse, she would pretend to be sad and he would eventually cave in. Was it a little messed up? Only if he ever found out.</p><p>She slipped into the room, preparing her practiced spiel to get her delicious breakfast. Only to blink when the kitchen was vacant, a few Nome's sat on the counter looking just as confused as her. "Have you seen The Architect?" She called out to the small creatures, getting nothing but shrugs and shaking heads. Six frowned slightly and nearly bumped into a panicked Nome that ran into the kitchen, it was chirping quickly while tugging on her raincoat desperately. She followed the frantic creature into The Architect's room, where other Nome's were gathered and staring up at the weakly groaning man who was sitting in his bed. His skin was flushed in a red hue, his eyes regarded her without their usual focus and warmth. He blinked for a moment and went to stand.</p><p>"Six? Crap... is it breakfast time already? Let me just-." The man stumbled for a moment while grasping his bed weakly, he was taking slow breaths while trying to fight against the small bout of dizziness that threatened to topple him. The Architect felt incredibly weak and could barely take two steps without feeling tired, his body ached for rest despite how much he's slept already. God he felt terrible, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this weak and sluggish. He was about to try again before he heard Six speak. "Dad, stop. You're obviously sick and need to lay down, I'll go let the others know what's happened to you." He shook his head slightly as he sat back down.</p><p>"I can't just stay here and do nothing, The Maw-"</p><p>"Won't sink without you for a day or two, just rest."</p><p>The Architect sighed loudly but complied, laying back down as the girl nodded in satisfaction. She swiftly left the room to inform the others of their guardians condition.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect's room was soon filled with concerned children, looking at the slightly frowning man as Eve and a few other kids moved a cool washcloth over his forehead. She hopped off the bed and addressed everyone. "He definitely has a fever, he's burning up something fierce." This made the man groan slightly in dismay, not at all pleased with this setback. Two whole days of doing absolutely nothing, he couldn't think of a worse outcome if he tried. The worse part was that he needed to rest to recover faster while staying hydrated, something about laying around while the children worked and cared for him left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Hopefully this will clear up soon, rather not force you kids to work so much on my behalf." He said lowly as he lifted a cool glass of water up to his lips.</p><p>"You spend most of your waking hours taking care of us, the least we can do is help you out for a day or two." RK said with a small smile from his nightstand. Six gave a small nod of agreement as Seth followed up with his own words. "You need the rest anyway. Your body will probably be thanking us by the end of these two days." The Architect huffed but said nothing to refute their words, despite how <strong>disgustingly</strong> unproductive he's felt laying around, he was slightly content with these arrangements. He never really got the chance to properly relax these days, working himself into a fatigue induced coma seemed more likely than him enjoying a day of leisure. He hardly knew what to do during his Saturday's for heavens sake!</p><p>It also helped that the children were quick to split up roles and duties to help him recover, it left a pleasant feeling in his chest to know they were so willing to care for him despite the inconvenience.</p><p>They would pop in every thirty minutes to check up on him, asking him if he was thirsty or felt too hot. They would bring him cool water and keep him company as he sated his parched throat, telling him about all the things they've been doing lately while caring for him. A few of the little brats even came in dressed in crude white cloaks with red crosses stuck on them, most likely stickers they found somewhere. It was hard for the man to keep a straight face as they asked him how he felt, they just looked too damn cute to him. The Nome's were hardly idle either, replacing his warm washcloths with cool new ones while scurrying about The Maw to check for problems in his absence. He was at least able to rest a little easier knowing that Seth and the Nome's were keeping The Maw running as best they can.</p><p>The Architect set an empty glass aside as Six watched him from her spot on his nightstand, he seemed less sluggish now, a far cry from how he was in the morning. His skin was still hot to the touch, some of the kids had compared the man to a living heater when they were here earlier. She had to agree with that comparison, his skin still sported that slight red hue, it was thankfully less prominent now. "I'm surprised this is the first time you've been this sick, your usually working on something that makes me nauseous from the smell." Her words made him laugh slightly, shifting slightly to face the girl as he responded. "You just don't like the smell of oil and gasoline, I've gotten used to it by now. I'm a bit surprised that you haven't." Six simply shook her head as the man stared up at the ceiling.</p><p>"I got sick once when I was younger." His words made the raincoat wearing girl perk her head up as she listened. "Just crawled out of some muddy ditch after running from some angry wolf, was covered head to toe in dirt." He briefly chuckled before continuing. "I was as sick as a dog once I got myself clean, couldn't stop sneezing to save my life. I remember I got so scared of sneezing and giving us a way that I thought about jamming my fingers into my nose just to stop myself." Six quietly giggled at the mental image of a child like Architect creeping through the woods with two fingers up his nose, she probably would have had a hard time staying silent if she had to glance back at that every now and again. The Architect wistfully sighed at the memory, he remembered how they would tell him not to overwork himself during their travels.</p><p>He felt like such a burden then, just as he does now.</p><p>Having to look after someone in that forest was a death sentence, it would have been safer if they just left him behind. He would have understood, they would have been able to move faster while avoiding detection. The sadness he would feel would be overtaken by the thought of their continued survival, or so he would keep telling himself. Instead, they cared for him and slowed down to compensate for his weakness, something that filled him with relief and joy. This kindness was repaid by leading them straight to their deaths at the hands of The Hunter, leaving a frantically sobbing and screaming girl to her fate as he ran. The Architect took a deep breath and dispelled those thoughts as Six hopped off her perch, making him look over as she yawned a bit. "I'm going to call it a night, yell if you need anything dad." She said softly while squeezing one of his fingers gently, making him smile a bit.</p><p>"I'll holler if I need something, go get some sleep. Thanks for being my nurse for the day."</p><p>The girl huffed as she jumped off his bed. "I don't think they make yellow outfits or wear raincoats."</p><p>"Goes against the whole white motif so..."</p><p>"Well that's dumb."</p><p>That got a small laugh from The Architect as Six left the room with a smile on her face. The man rolled over to his side and allowed sleep to whisk him away to the land of dreams.</p><p>-</p><p>The Refugee Boy hummed a small tune as he kicked his legs out idly while sitting on The Architect's nightstand. He volunteered to watch their recovering guardian while Six and RK went to handle a possible leech infestation, the girl didn't want anyone nearby while she used her magic. She wanted to avoid a repeat of that talk with Seth and Eve if she could, RK was only coming along to help her in case she overdid it. RB was perfectly fine with this, he's taken care of his sister before when she got sick with a fever. It filled him with a nice sense of purpose and familiarity as he readied cool washcloths and cold water for The Architect. The man was currently finishing a glass of water, setting it down near the boy as he looked at him with a pleased smile. His complexion was coming back and his skin was losing that red slight red tint. He wasn't even that warm anymore! RB was incredibly proud about that.</p><p>"You're a lifesaver my boy, thought I was going to have to get up for a minute there." The Architect said with a smile, his movements were fluent, no longer sluggish and weighed down by a sickness induced fatigue. RB shook his head a bit as he spoke. "It's a good thing you didn't, you'll only get better with plenty of rest. It took me forever to drill that into my sisters head." He remembered how he had to drag her back to bed, she would always be pouting whenever he caught her up and about when she should have been resting. He was glad The Architect at least had some common sense.</p><p>He blinked when he felt a finger gently rub the top of his head, the warm voice of The Architect made him look up at the smiling man. "Glad to see someone else recovering well enough." RB blinked for a moment in confusion before realization hit him, making him smile softly as he looked at the ground. He tried his best to take The Architect's advice to heart after that night, remembering all the wonderful things he used to do with his sister. He decided to scare a few kids during playtime just like he used to do back at his village, it was... surprisingly refreshing. Laughing and running from angry kids made him feel much better, it felt nice to just live for a change. He still got a little sad when he thought about her, but The Architect's words would always echo in his head and set him right. He wore the biggest smile he could, knowing his sister was smiling just like him wherever she was now.</p><p>"I'm trying my best to be happy just like you told me, I don't want to be stuck in the past like that again. She wouldn't have wanted that." His words made The Architect smile, he was glad to hear such sincere words leave the boy's lips. He just had to take his own advice once this stupid fever leaves him, it was a little harder to ignore his own bad memories when he had much free time to think now. A blessing and a curse, he had time to reevaluate his creations and work, but it also left him with ample time to reflect on that terrible day. Stupid analytical brain, why couldn't he just think about his work alone? "You should be fine by tomorrow, fever's usually don't last too long if you recover correctly." RB said happily, making the distracted man look down at him.</p><p>That was a relief, he was tired of laying around and doing nothing. He yearned to work with his tools again.</p><p>"That's great to hear, thanks for taking care of me RB." The Architect's words made the boy smile warmly as he waved off his thanks. "It's the least I can do after you listened to me about my nightmare, I'm sure everyone else thinks the same." He responded as he climbed down the nightstand. It was starting to get late and he could see how The Architect was seconds away from falling asleep, no doubt eager to be rid of that annoying fever. The man curled up in bed like an excited child on the night before Christmas, a sight that made RB giggle to himself as he walked out of the room. "Goodnight dad, call if you need anything." He called out over his shoulder.</p><p>"Goodnight RB, I will." The Architect responded before closing his eyes, impatiently waiting for sleep to claim him.</p><p>He wanted to get back to work already, being this unproductive for so long was killing him! How the hell do people do this for weeks?! </p><p>        </p><p>   </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Kids Will Be Kids</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect leaves the children alone for a day to take care of a problem in the depths, they do what any group of unsupervised children do...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really liked this idea so a big shoutout to The_Last_Nightwalker for the suggestion. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So, your leaving us alone here?" The slightly dejected voice of RK rang out in the corridor as The Architect fastened his diving suit, making the man frown briefly. When he said it like that it made it sound like he was going to abandon them, the notion seemed impossible to the man. He turned and looked at the four confused children before him, clearing his throat a bit as he kneeled down.</p><p>"I'm only going to be gone for a few hours, depends on how long it takes to weld the breach in the depths. Can't exactly let this place fill with water, now can I?" He asked softly, making the sweater wearing boy shudder at the thought before rapidly nodded his head. He didn't like the idea of any parts of The Maw flooding, he was willing to tackle his fear of deep water but, he didn't want to drown while doing so. Six and Seth seemed to understand his reasoning well enough, Eve and RK just felt a little bad about not being able to see the man for the rest of the day. The Architect ruffled his hair affectionately, making the frowning boy pout as he tried to swat his hand away to no avail.</p><p>"I'll be back before you know it, I already left your meals for the day in the kitchen. I know you four will hold the fort while I'm gone." He said pleasantly as he slipped his divers helmet on, stepping into an elevator that would take him to the depths before speaking once more. "Try not to make a mess and do <strong>not</strong> play with my tools, Nome's do that enough as it is." His muffled voice made them giggle as they playfully saluted, getting a satisfied nod from the man before the elevator closed and descended. The Architect sighed as he adjusted the air canister on his back, he got to spend his hours in a tight diving suit while welding with only the fishes and his thoughts to keep him company. This was one of the rare moments where he hated his affinity for making and fixing things.</p><p>The four children were walking back to the nursery while discussing what they should do now, they've already eaten breakfast, all that was left was to address everyone else and go about their day. "You know... this is kind of exciting in a weird way." Eve said, making the other three kids look at her with curious faces as she elaborated. "We can basically do whatever we want as long as we clean up after ourselves and steer clear of dad's tools." Six hummed softly in agreement as Seth and RK rubbed their chins in thought. The Architect did say he would be gone for hours, they couldn't be blamed for finding someway to entertain themselves. RK suddenly jumped in front of the group with a wide smile. "We could finally watch those movies he always hides away during movie night!" The boy said excitedly, making Seth frown a bit.</p><p>"You mean the movies he says we shouldn't watch because they're not appropriate for us?"</p><p>"Yep!"</p><p>Seth was about to ask why on Earth he would want to watch those films when Six slowly spoke up. "I mean... he didn't say anything about those movies before he left so..." She trailed off, making RK grin before he looked over at Eve. She simply shrugged. "I don't see why not, how bad could they be?" The three children looked at the sputtering Seth before he sighed loudly, if they were all going for it he might as well join them. "Okay fine... but I'm not getting chewed out if we get caught!" RK chuckled as he wrapped an arm around the nervous boy's shoulders, pulling him to his side along with a squirming Six as he reassuringly spoke. "He won't find out about it, we'll clean everything up and be on our way before he comes back. We'll leave the room the same way we found it." Six couldn't help but ask something.</p><p>"Where was this mindset when you lost that stupid teddy bear? Probably would have helped a lot back then."</p><p>Eve and Seth giggled as the irritated boy pulled the flailing girl's hood over her face. "What did I say about bringing that up!?" Six slapped his hands away and kicked his shin angrily in response. "Don't get mad at me for speaking the truth!" She told the hopping boy hissing in pain, this back and forth banter continued as they made their way to the nursery to inform everyone about their guardians absence.</p><p>-</p><p>The four kids slowly crept into The Architect's room, looking around for any of his helpful Nome's before shutting the door behind them. They quickly ran over to the TV. Six and Eve worked on turning everything on while Seth and RK pulled the box of movies out, rummaging through it until they found the movies with an R written on their cases. They chose a random film and pulled it out as RK called out. "We got a movie ready, let's slip it in."</p><p>"What movie are you guys watching?"</p><p>RB's voice nearly made the two boys jump, quickly turning to see the cloaked boy standing beside a disfigured girl with a hunched back, she was wearing a large cloak with a hood covering her face entirely. The only thing the two could see was her blue eyes that stared back at them with curiosity. This was The Humpbacked Girl, someone Six met along with RB when she first explored The Maw before The Architect arrived. She faintly remembered the story behind her appearance, resisting the urge to shiver as she recalled the terrible mirror monster that trapped the poor girl's friends. She could probably guess why she was here with RB. "We were about to watch this movie since dad's busy in the depths." RK's words made the Humpbacked Girl look at the ground in a dejected manner, she was hoping to speak to the busy man before he left.</p><p>"Aren't those the movies he usually doesn't let us watch?"</p><p>"Yep! Want to join us?" Why would he just blatantly ask?! Did this idiot not know the meaning of subtlety?! Six was seconds away from throttling the grinning moron before RB responded with a similar grin.</p><p>"Sure! How about it HG?" Just like that? The humpbacked girl thought about it before giving a slow nod, following the boy as he walked towards the TV. Six glanced at Eve who simply shrugged, were boy's just prone to agreeing to anything? At least Seth had the common sense to be apprehensive about the films The Architect forbade them from watching. They all sat down on the carpet as the film began to play, opening with a futuristic spaceship slowly approaching a large planet. It soon went inside the vessel and followed a tired looking woman trailing behind a rugged looking man in a uniform.</p><p>"The whole colony just went dark? That couldn't have just happened overnight sir."</p><p>"Evidently it didn't, we managed to get a single SOS transmission before we lost contact."</p><p>"What did they say?"</p><p>The man looked uncomfortable for a moment, something that surprised the woman as they walked into the bridge of the ship. He wordlessly hit a few buttons and allowed the message to play. Everyone listened to the garbled and staticky voice of an utterly crushed man as he delivered his final message.</p><p>"I'm sending this out with the hope of someone finding it. If you're planet-side, you're already as good as dead. Just radio up and order this place nuked." He let out a few weak coughs before he continued. "I'm serious, you're going to <strong>die</strong> down here. The least you could do is spare humanity from the same fate...nuke it." The transmission ended, leaving everyone in the bridge pale as they stared at the monitor in shock. This set the mood for the rest of the bleak movie as the ship slowly descended down towards the planet.</p><p>-</p><p>They were starting to see why these movies were kept away from them.</p><p>"I don't think anyone is still alive... haven't seen another soul in God knows how long." The battered form of the woman from the start of the movie stared at the camera vacantly, hardly flinching at the distant sounds of inhumane screams and roars. She gave a haunting grin as she began to step away." I'll leave this running, maybe you'll see something that convinces you but I doubt it..." An enraged shriek echoed from the dark hall she was marching into, slightly distorted by the static that enveloped the screen. " Don't come looking for me, you may not like what you find..." She whispered ominously just as the screen faded to black.</p><p>RK, Seth, and Eve were shaking slightly, their faces pale from the graphic horror they just witnessed. HG and RB were unnerved but were able to enjoy the movie well enough, even if some of the monsters were absolutely nauseating to look at. Six was the only one who wasn't too thrown off by the film, she even found it a little entertaining. The struggles of the survivors against the mutated horrors that used to be their friends had her hooked, even if some of their deaths were needlessly graphic.</p><p>Did they really have to show that guy getting his head replaced by one of those puppet things?</p><p>The film was filled with gruesome deaths like that, even the smallest of monsters could end your life in vicious ways if enough of them were present. Six briefly entertained the thought of having such creatures around to deal with monstrous adults before quickly crushing it, their world was filled with enough horror as it is. They didn't need new monsters that didn't discriminate between adults and kids. She ejected the disk and put it back in it's case as she looked at the three scared children. "That movie wasn't half bad, what are we watching next?" She asked with a smile.</p><p>The three kids put the movie back in the box in record time, leaving the room quickly as Six laughed to herself. Guess that was enough for them. She followed after them with RB and HG at her heels. " I mean... it wasn't that scary." RB said, making the disfigured child look at him as she spoke. "You looked like you were seconds away from jumping into the air when they first introduced those weird stalker monsters." The boy waved her words aside easily as they walked down the corridor, the movie was a good two hours long. They couldn't expect him to not be scared at all throughout the whole film. "You don't see me sprinting up ahead now do you?" He asked, making her roll her blue eyes as they entered the playroom.</p><p>They found Seth and RK huddled in a fort made of building blocks with a hastily stuck note that said, 'No Alien Zombies allowed.' This sticker confused some of the other kids in the room as Seth shook the sweater wearing boy angrily. "I told you we shouldn't have watched that movie! Why did you have to rope me into seeing it too?!" He wailed as RK escaped his grip.</p><p>"I didn't know it would be that scary! You could have said no!"</p><p>"And be a complete downer? Hell no!"</p><p>"Then blame yourself!"</p><p>Six grinned to herself and cupped her hands over her mouth, replicating one of the shrieks the monsters in the movie made to the best of her ability. It made the two boys scream before they hugged each other tightly, retreating further into their fort with fearful whimpers. She laughed loudly while leaning on the fort with tears in her eyes, Eve shook her head with an amused smile as RB cackled in the back. "That was absolutely evil, Six." HG said, her hood hid a wide smile as the two boys peeked out from their fort with faces flushed in embarrassment. "Why would you do that?! How the hell can you even replicate that!?" RK shouted, Six simply shrugged with an innocent smile.</p><p>"Me? I didn't make any noise, maybe one of those things crawled out of the TV." She said innocently while closing her eyes, letting out a grunt when the vengeful boy tackled her and pulled on her hood angrily. "Don't act all coy you raincoat wearing devil!" He said as the girl tried to push him away. He paused when he felt something soft hit his head, turning around just in time to receive a pillow to the face. A grinning Eve stared at the stunned boy with a gleam in her eye before a pillow struck her in the face, curtesy of a laughing Seth before absolute pandemonium erupted in the room.</p><p>Kids of all shapes and sizes were hitting each other with pillows while giggling and shouting at each other, the chaotic pillow fight made Seth and RK forget all about that terrible movie. They were valiantly defending their fort from the other kids, smacking anyone who got too close. Eve crept up on Seth with a mischievous smile, rearing her arms back to enact sweet revenge for his earlier sneak attack. She was about to swing when she felt someone hit her leg, making her tumble off the fort with a group of kids getting tangled in her fall. She found herself in a twisted pile of groaning and tangled bodies, trying her best to squirm out of the pile with a grimace. She slowly felt panic enter her system as she tried and failed to free herself from the mound of bodies.</p><p>Her breaths came out quick as she struggled fiercely to free herself, fear slowly gripping her heart as the body of giggling kids slowly turned into a hand. Its grip tightened with each attempt of escape, this wasn't right, this wasn't right. Why couldn't she move? It felt like the air was getting squeezed out of her tiny lungs and she absolutely hated it. All she could hear was the roar of her blood in her ears along with the low croaks of The Janitor as he carried her away in a tight palm. Why was he here? He should be dead! Broken and mangled at the bottom of this stupid place. Why wouldn't he just let her go!? Just let go! Just let go!</p><p>"Let me go!"</p><p>The bloodcurdling scream from the trapped girl made the kids scramble to get off her, eyes wide in panic and fear as her wide eyes looked around the room in distress. All pretense of playful laughing died as Six quickly ran over to the hyperventilating girl. "Eve, Eve! I need you to calm down and breath, no one's going to hurt you! You need to relax!" Her pleas made the panicking girl look at her for a moment before the door to the playroom was roughly opened, revealing a wide eyed Architect who quickly zeroed in on the trembling girl. He swiftly approached with concerned eyes, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he heard that horrible scream. His mind was already running through the worst case scenarios as he sprinted towards the source, his blood damn near froze in his veins when he figured out that it came from the playroom.</p><p>"What happened?! Did she hurt herself?" He asked as he slowly reached down to pick her up, making tears appear in her eyes. All she could see was that large hand ready to take her away again, to drag her to that hopeless hell with the rest of the sobbing children in those dark and cold cages. She didn't want that! She didn't want that anymore! Eve let out a scream of pure terror and kicked at the hand that was reaching for her in defiance as she yelled.</p><p>"Stay away from me!"</p><p>The Architect shot his hand back to his side as if it was burned by fire, his eyes wide with confusion and hurt as he stared down at the girl that looked up at him in fear. Her eyes tracked the slightest movement he made, like a cornered animal looking for an escape route. He ignored how much the sight made his heart clench painfully, slowly standing up as he realized what was happening. She was suffering from an intense panic attack, something likely born from her time in The Maw before he arrived. It didn't even look like the poor girl recognized him in her state, she was staring at him like he was some sort of monster. Her eyes practically screamed at him to leave, to disappear as she let out uneven breaths laced in panic. Was this how the children viewed him when he first walked past their cages?</p><p>It was a little hard to ignore how terrible that made him feel, to be viewed as a monster by one of the children that loved him dearly.</p><p>"I..." He hesitated, struggling to spit his words out through the haze of emotions he was feeling right now. Six and RK looked at their guardian with tight frowns, the man looked utterly lost for a moment, something that made them immensely sad as he slowly regained his composure to speak. "I'm going to leave the room, don't crowd her and try to calm her down gently. I'll be in my room." He said as he slowly walked out the door, shutting the door behind him calmly. Six stared at the door for a moment before she gently hugged the shuddering Eve, gently stroking her hair as she calmly whispered. "Nothing is going to take you away, it's just kids in here. There's no need to be scared." Her voice made the girl slowly blink as she looked around the room, staring back at the concerned eyes as Six rubbed her back soothingly.</p><p>Her breaths became a bit more controlled as Six slowly let her go, helping her stand up. Seth looked like he wanted to approach them but a slight shake of the head from Six made him stay where he was. She slowly guided the trembling girl out of the playroom and into the bathroom. She stood by Eve's side as she shakily splashed some water on her face, internally relieved when some color began to return to her face. Eve slowly broke the silence as she wiped her face dry with a towel. " I'm sorry about that, I just couldn't move for a moment and it felt so suffocating." She said with a frown, rubbing her arms slightly as Six stroked her hair comfortingly. She was just glad that her friend wasn't struggling to breath normally anymore. "It's fine, you just gave everyone a big scare, big guy included." She replied.</p><p>Eve's frown deepened a bit, feeling bad that she killed the mood in the playroom. They were having so much fun too, she even made The Architect scared-.</p><p>Oh no... she vividly remembered how crushed the man looked when she screamed at him, the hurt that flashed through his eyes when she kicked at his hand. He must feel absolutely terrible right now! She brushed past a stammering Six as she ran out of the bathroom, ignoring her concerned cries as she raced towards The Architect's room.</p><p>She slipped through the crack of the door to see the frowning man working at his table. His diving suit laid forgotten on the floor as he completely focused on his work in a bid to distract himself. He nearly jumped when he felt something tug on his slacks, looking down at the frowning girl with an unreadable expression. "Are you feeling better?" He slowly asked, getting a small nod from Eve. He waited for the girl to say anything, softly continuing when she opted to stay silent.</p><p>"Are you hurt?"</p><p>A small shake of the head.</p><p>"Do you want to go back the playroom?"</p><p>Her grip on his pants tightened, a very clear no it seems. The Architect sighed a bit before he moved to pick her up before he hesitated, his face morphing into a conflicted look. Eve felt her guilt throb painfully in her heart before she quickly leaned into his hand, making it jerk slightly before it gingerly picked her up. His grip was light and gentle as he held her up to his chest, cradling her there as his other hand scribbled some adjustments to the blueprints he was analyzing. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the calm beats of his heart as he worked. They stayed like that for awhile, with only the scribbling of a pencil being audible in the silent room.</p><p>A small voice from his chest made the man stop, glancing down at the small girl who had her face buried in his shirt. "What was that?" He asked softly. The girl tried again, her voice hardly reaching his ears as he strained to hear her.</p><p>"You'll have to speak up my dear." He encouraged gently, making Eve shuffle a bit in his arm before she softly muttered.</p><p>"I'm sorry..."</p><p>"You have nothing to be sorry for." He assured calmly as she tightened her grip on his shirt, he faintly felt something wet stain the spot she was resting her head on. The Architect softly rubbed her back as she sniffled slightly.</p><p>"But I yelled at you... hit you." She mumbled, making the man shake his head slightly.</p><p>"You were scared, I'm not mad about that. I'm just relieved that you're okay now."</p><p>They fell into a small moment of silence as The Architect reached for his pencil to keep writing. Her next words made him freeze. "I'm sorry I looked at you like that... I don't think you're a monster dad." He made a conscious effort to stop the small quake that plagued his right arm, gingerly stroking her hair as he softly replied. "I know sweetheart, I know..." His words of assurance made her feel slightly better as she leaned into his caring touch. His careful, affectionate actions grinded to a halt as she said four simple words.</p><p>"I love you dad."</p><p>Eve felt the arm that held her aloft shake slightly, making her internally fear that she may have said something wrong before she felt a hand gently press her against his warm chest. He's never heard the words said before by anyone, his old group never threw the words around despite all the time they spent together. The Architect knew they cared for him just like how he cared for them, just like how he cared for these children now. Their happiness and safety were paramount in his eyes, nothing else really mattered as much to him. They could go the rest of their lives simply treating him like a friend and he would have been happy.</p><p>Then they went and called him dad, his heart surged with joy every time they called him that. He really didn't think he could feel any better until now.</p><p>Now he was fighting the urge to tear up, feeling like he was on cloud 9 as he embraced the sweet little child in his arms gingerly. </p><p>"I love you too Eve." His voice was dripping with warmth and joy as he gently stroked the beaming girl's hair. She happily buried her head into his chest as he gazed down at her for a moment before he leaned back and stared at his unfinished blueprints. He couldn't find the strength to feel bad about his lack of productivity as he soothingly rubbed her back. Her soft, content sighs made it seem worth it to him, he could continue his work once she fell asleep. His children had a habit of knocking out in his arms in the loveliest ways.</p><p>He just had to make sure he didn't fall asleep himself, that was the hard part.                 </p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Swimming Lessons And Saturday Hijinks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect helps RK tackle his fear of deep water while going about his usual Saturday routine.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>RK followed The Architect with a nervous look on his face, wondering why the man asked him to follow him during playtime. He was scratching his head over what he might have done to be singled out. Did he find out about the movie? He was sure they had put it back just as they found it! How did he even know it was his idea? The only way he could have known is if someone had told him.</p><p>His mind flashed back to a smirking Six, who innocently waved goodbye as he was led out of the room.</p><p>That little snitch!</p><p>They entered The Architect's room soon enough, RK quickly began to explain himself. "I don't know what you may have heard, but I didn't do anything!" His words made the main raise a brow as he continued. "Six has a habit of lying, you should know that! Remember all the times you've found her rummaging around in the kitchen late at night?" The Architect stared at the sputtering boy for a moment before he finally asked.</p><p>"RK, what are you talking about?"</p><p>The boy blinked a bit, tilting his head in confusion. "I'm not in trouble or something?"  He asked, making the man shake his head. "No, we are just going to work on your fear today. I thought it would be a good addition to my Saturdays." The man said with a smile, making the nervous boy let out a sigh of relief before his words registered in his mind. "I did notice that Seth seemed a little jumpy yesterday... one of my movies were also placed out of order.  The Nome's seemed to think someone was watching something they shouldn't." RK's eyes widened a bit, mentally cursing the skittish boy as he tried to assure his guardian of his innocence. "Well I never stepped into your room, maybe it was someone else?" He supplied helpfully, making the man narrow his eyes down at the boy as his right eye softly glowed green.</p><p>"I never said it was you."</p><p>RK grew pale as he realized his mistake, making the man shake his head slightly. "I guess we can consider this a punishment too." The Architect said with a shrug as he walked into his bathroom, the man soon returned with a small bucket filled with water. He set it down on the floor before going to his workbench, leaving the boy to anxiously stare at the bucket before he returned with two small and puffy things made of plastic along with small swimming trunks. "These things will help you stay afloat as we get you accustomed to deep water, go ahead and slip these on." He said as he handed the boy the swimming trunks. RK took them hesitantly before he stepped behind the bucket to change, slowly stepping back out while adjusting the surprisingly comfortable apparel. The Architect looked pleased as he softly instructed. "Hold your arms out." The boy did as he was asked, allowing the man to slip the floaties onto his arms.</p><p>"Perfect, let's get started." He held out his hand, prompting the nervous boy to hop on as he looked at the bucket with mounting dread. He couldn't help but voice his concerns.</p><p>"Are you sure these things will help?"</p><p>"Are you doubting something I <strong>specifically</strong> made?" The Architect sounded like he was just slapped in the face, making the boy quickly correct his error with a nervous smile. "T-That's not what I meant! I was just wondering if they would really keep me afloat. They just feel really light." The man nodded slightly as he held him over the water. "That's the point, they will keep you from sinking and let you focus on swimming." RK looked at the floaties on his arms for a moment before he glanced at the water below him with a frown, it wasn't the largest bucket he's ever seen, but it certainly felt like it was. He shuffled his feet nervously as his brain kept conjuring up images from his nightmares, gnarled and disgusting hands dragging him down into the depths as water filled his lungs and silenced his screams. He shut his eyes tightly, nearly jumping out of The Architect's hand as a finger rubbed his back reassuringly.</p><p>"Nothing is going to happen to you RK, I'll be right here with you to make sure nothing happens. We can try this again another time if you don't feel ready." The Architect said warmly. He didn't want the poor boy to suffer a panic attack over this, he would gladly wait until the boy felt ready to tackle his fear. RK stared at the water below him for a moment, he was sick and tired of being scared of this. They were on a massive vessel surrounded by nothing but water for heaven's sake! He refused to let this fear hinder him anymore. He took a deep breath before he jumped off the surprised man's hand, submerging himself in the cool water with a small splash. He struggled for a moment before he realized his head wasn't below the water, blinking in surprise as he looked at the floaties keeping him afloat.</p><p>He let out a slight laugh as he looked down, no hand was rising from the murky depths to drag him under, he wasn't sinking like a stone either! The Architect watched RK turn and slowly swim around the bucket with a proud smile, glad to see the floaties worked as intended. It was the first time he's ever made something like that after all. "This isn't so bad! The water feels pretty nice too! The boy excitedly chirped, making him chuckle a bit as he responded. "Just relax and get used to the feeling, try to lay on your back." RK slowly tried to float with his back facing the water, struggling for a moment before he finally managed to get it right. He leisurely floated around the bucket as he looked up at the smiling man, he would have been more afraid about doing this if he couldn't constantly see The Architect's reassuring face.</p><p>"How are you feeling?"</p><p>"Pretty good... this is kind of relaxing."</p><p>"I'm glad to hear that, I'll let you swim for a bit in awhile. Just relax for now."</p><p>The boy gave a lazy nod before he slowly closed his eyes, drifting around the bucket without a care in the world. The Architect committed the adorable sight to memory as he watched the tension slowly leave RK's body. He continued to watch the boy, gently nudging the boy away from the sides of the bucket as he let him get used to the water. The man softly cleared his throat, making RK slowly open his eyes as he spoke. "Alright, I don't want you falling asleep in there. Let's get you moving." RK fixed his posture in preparation, looking up at The Architect as he gave a satisfied nod. "Just start swimming, use whatever type of style you want and move at your own pace." RK nodded before he started with a few freestyle strokes, doing a few laps around the bucket as The Architect watched him carefully.</p><p>The boy was doing well enough, slowly getting accustomed to the feeling as The Architect closely monitored his progress. RK was still slightly apprehensive and nervous as he swam, but he was still doing incredibly well. This fear of his won't just vanish after a single session, he was going to need to ease the boy into larger bodies of water once he was comfortable with this small bucket. Baby steps.</p><p>RK was soon tuckered out, looking up at the slightly amused man as he spoke. "You drained?" The boy gave a slow nod, prompting the man to gingerly lift him out of the water. "Alright, I think we can end things there. Good job buddy, I'm real proud of you. You took some serious initiative today." The boy beamed at his praise, letting out a muffled groan of protest as the man started drying him off with a towel. He dried off his hair and allowed RK to stumble out of his grasp with a chuckle, making the boy pout at him angrily as he dried off the rest of his body. "I can dry myself you know." He complained, making the man grin a bit. "I'm aware, just thought I could give you a hand." RK rolled his eyes as he walked over to his dry clothes, smiling to himself as he got dressed. The last time he heard The Architect sound so proud was when he was acting as bait for The Chef. It certainly inspired the boy to keep going with these sessions.</p><p>He couldn't let the man down if he was being this supportive, he even went as far as to make him something to ease his worries!</p><p>RK stepped back out from behind the bucket, stepping onto the waiting palm as The Architect grabbed the bucket and emptied it in the sink. "I'm glad you enjoyed your little dip, I'm sure you'll be refreshed for the rest of the lessons today." RK balked at his words.</p><p>"I still have to attend that!?"</p><p>"Of course, don't look so upset. You guys wanted me to spend these days doing anything but work, right?"</p><p>-</p><p>Educating the children has quickly become one of The Architect's favorite activities, even if he wasn't exactly a great teacher. These informative books helped well enough, he thanked God that the library was filled with so many helpful books. He would allow the children to play after breakfast before calling them into his room. He would change the subject every day, from math to literature and even a little bit of history.</p><p>It was strictly kept to important events and the creation of important tools and ideas, the rest of history was... what you would expect from a world filled with dangerous monsters that preyed on children. No need to teach them about what they already know.</p><p>It was surprising how well the children behaved during these lessons, especially during math. He wasn't the biggest fan of the subject despite his affinity for creating things, his eye handled most of the calculations needed for building complex things. He wrote this off as an eagerness to learn something they otherwise would have never known about, the only things they knew was how to survive and live to see another day. So the prospect of learning something new in a safe environment was probably very tempting.</p><p>Today was one of the rare days where the children weren't too interested in the lesson, fighting the urge to sleep as The Architect wrote a few examples of easy addition and subtraction on the small whiteboard he was carrying. Six shared a glance with an equally struggling Eve, the only one who was still paying attention was Seth, who eagerly copied the examples. Six slowly raised her hand and called out. "Dad?"</p><p>"Yes?" He asked as he set his marker down.</p><p>"Did you ever use anything like this when you were a kid?"</p><p>The question made him pause for a moment as he searched his mind for a particular memory, he smiled a bit and chuckled as something came to mind. "Actually yeah, I remember this one time me and my old friends had a debate over something silly." The children hid their small grins as the man started telling the story, Six happily accepted the congratulating pat on the back from Eve. "We stumbled upon this tree that had this little hole in it, it was absolutely filled with acorns. I guess a squirrel was using it as a place to store it's food for the winter." He pulled a small book from his left as he noticed some of their confused expressions, flipping towards a picture of a squirrel as he explained. "These are squirrels, they usually hang around trees and make their homes inside of them. They have a habit of storing their food for winter." He slowly held the book out for them to see, making a few of them gush over the little tree rodent.</p><p>"It kind of looks like a rat."</p><p>"They share similar traits, they're basically like the rats of the forest." He shrugged before he continued his tale. "So, we were trying to figure out how many acorns were in the tree. One of us thought that there was at least a hundred in that tree, someone else said there was more than that." He shook his head with a small chuckle. "I remember suggesting that we take them out and count them to figure out who was right. They took the first acorn out and were nearly swept away by the tidal wave of acorns that came out of that tree." He remembered how funny it was to watch them struggle to keep their balance as the forest floor was filled with acorns, his stomach had hurt so badly from his laughter. The children seemed to find the mental image just as funny since a few of them were giggling.</p><p>"Apparently this squirrel was quite the hoarder, and he did not like how we spilled all of his precious food out of his little spot. We had to run from an angry squirrel for who knows how long, we only stopped when we stopped hearing its angry little chittering." He laughed a bit, vividly remembering how terrified the boy who pulled the first acorn was when the vengeful rodent focused on him. It would have been funnier if they didn't have to run from the furry rat too. He smiled at the fond memory, setting the book aside as he was about to continue his lesson.</p><p>Only to blink when his alarm rang out, making him look at it in surprise before he glanced at the suddenly wide awake children. Six sat up and stretched with a pleased smile as the man rubbed his chin. Time really flew it seems. "Guess that's it for today, we'll pick up on this next time." He said with a smile, setting the whiteboard aside as the kids began to leave the room. They all stopped when he called out after them.</p><p>"I expect you all to answer a few questions during our next lesson, I hope you took some good notes!"</p><p>Poor Seth would have a lot of visitors in the coming week.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect sat in his workshop with Seth sitting on his shoulder, the both of them were reviewing a small blueprint for the boy's next project. It showed a small battery powered toy car, something Seth was incredibly excited to make. "We'll be using today as a way of selecting your preferred materials, once you have that, we can work on rough drafts together for the next day." The boy nodded eagerly as he hopped off the man's shoulder, examining the laid out materials with a critical eye. Seth was starting to get better at appraising certain materials, choosing the most optimal materials to use for his projects with little help. The boy was also starting to get a hang of using the small tools he's crafted for him, it was starting to get a little tedious to have the boy use tools three times his size.</p><p>He soon chose his preferred materials, walking over to the man as he laid out a small sheet of paper. He was strictly prohibited from working on his own projects, they never said anything about helping his aspiring apprentice with his projects. They wrote down small step by step instructions for assembling the little car, painting a rough picture of what the final product should look like once everything was assembled correctly. Seth was completely engrossed in his work, something that made The Architect smile with pride as he watched him work. He just hoped the boy didn't pick up his unhealthy work habits.</p><p>"I think this will work out pretty well." Seth said with a pleased smile as he held up the small paper, making the man nod in agreement. "I don't see any glaring problems with it either, all you have to do is piece it all together. You're getting better at this my boy, nice work." Seth smiled widely at the praise, happily leaning into the man's touch as he ruffled his hair proudly. He was beyond happy with his progress so far, The Architect has been an exceptional teacher. The man seemed to know when he was struggling and assisted him whenever he got stuck or frustrated with something. A screw that wouldn't tighten or a wire that wouldn't conduct, he always helped him with extreme patience and diligence. He was never discouraged by his shortcomings or setbacks thanks to The Architect's reassuring teachings.</p><p>Nothing was bound to work the first time, so try again until it does. These words inspired clarity and focus whenever he got stuck on something.</p><p>The Architect yawned a bit and look at the clock, it was starting to get late. The children would soon be retiring for the night. He gently picked Seth up and held him securely against his chest as he began to carry the boy back to the nursery. "It's almost bedtime, can't have you picking up on all my habits now." He said with a little laugh, making the boy pout slightly at the thought of sleeping so soon. He was really eager to continue his work on this new project, is this how The Architect felt when he worked late at night? He filed those thoughts away for later, softly nuzzling his head into the man's warm chest as he walked.</p><p>-</p><p>All of the children were tucked away in their beds, looking at The Architect expectantly as he sat in the middle of the room. He smiled a bit as he continued his tale. "Pay attention children, this is the part of the story that is really important." He reveled in their eager and attentive faces as he cleared his throat and continued to read. "Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky. And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die." He said seriously, deepening his tone slightly before he continued in a softer voice. "As the creeper girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack." He read with a small smile, reminded of his days in the forest with his group. Their struggles and triumphs came from their combined efforts, the only one who ever succeeded alone was him.</p><p>Look how well that went.</p><p>He shook the thought as he shut the book, smiling kindly at the children as he concluded. "No one wins alone, you can do so much more when you work together towards a common goal. You only have each other in this terrible world, so look after each other and keep each other safe. You will miss the days where you had someone to rely on in your hour of need." None of them would share his fate, none of them will have to live with the guilt of being the last one alive, he would make sure of that. He stared at their tired faces as a few of them eagerly asked for another story. The Architect smiled and slowly shook his head.</p><p>"It's starting to get late, you should all get some rest. I'll be sure to read more stories tomorrow, I promise." He assured the whining children, slowly standing up as he walked towards the door. He turned the lights off and softly called out. "Goodnight, I'll see you all tomorrow." They slowly replied with sleepy voices.</p><p>"Goodnight dad..."</p><p>The Architect smiled to himself as he slowly shut the door, walking towards his room as he put the book under his arm. The story could be interpreted in many different ways, he enjoyed reading it when he stumbled upon it in the library one day. He preferred to use it as a lesson in companionship and community, how each and every one of them were just as important as the other. He hoped they would grow with this mindset, it made the thought of leaving them to fend for themselves one day much more bearable.</p><p>He hoped that day was still far ahead of him, he wasn't quite ready to part with these children just yet.      </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Mono's Sweet Business</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mono finds joy in the little things, like giving others hats. That's why he tries to find the very best one for his one-eyed guardian.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I couldn't get this idea out of my head once The_Last_Nightwalker mentioned it in their last comment. This will be taking place after the destruction of the Signal Tower.<br/>I've also been playing a lot of Destiny 2 lately so the title for this chapter has me imagining Mono maniacally firing that exotic, don't know why I find it so funny.</p><p>Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mono frowned as he stared up at the detectives cap just out of reach, rubbing his chin in thought as he looked for a way to scale the tree before him. Climbing it would take too long and curfew was fast approaching. He didn't want to worry The Architect by showing up late. He suddenly snapped his fingers, briefly electrifying the air around his digits as an idea came to him. He's seen the Thin Man do something similar when he was about to grab Six, maybe he could do something similar. He reached out and focused, mentally willing the hat to come to him as the air around him grew distorted. The hat briefly flickered for a moment, like a glitch on a TV, before it suddenly shot into his waiting hand. Mono grinned widely, ignoring how numb his hand was now as he stuffed the hat away in his bag along with the rest.</p><p>Today has been a productive day, something he was sure The Architect would be proud of!</p><p>He ran back to camp with his haul, he couldn't wait to get started.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect checked his watch with a small frown, everyone was back home with the exception of one trench coat wearing boy. He wasn't late yet, but he still felt an inkling of concern fester in his heart as he gazed out at the woods. It was hard to make certain things out in the dark from here. Oh how he missed his eye, he would have just turned into a walking searchlight and called it a day. The man adjusted the eye patch he now wore, a hand crafted gift from Eve and the other children. It was well made and hardly irritated him, something he was immensely thankful for. He repaid their kindness by cooking their favorite meals the following day, the way Eve's eyes lit up with joy at the sight of Italian cuisine let him know that she appreciated the feast.</p><p>He was snapped out of his thoughts by a small shout, nearly jumping out of his chair when Mono suddenly appeared on his lap, heralded by the buzz of static. The Architect calmed his racing heart and glared down at the boy that nervously smiled up at him. They stared at each other for a moment before Mono slowly asked.</p><p>"...Am I late?"</p><p>The Architect glanced at his watch. "You were cutting it pretty close."</p><p>Mono let out a relieved sigh and shook off the feeling of vertigo, he still wasn't used to teleporting short distances like that. It always left his stomach turning in uncomfortable knots, but it was slowly starting to get tolerable. "Feeling better?" The man asked, his tone calm and low, making the unsuspecting boy nod cheerfully as he brushed his coat free of dirt. "Yep! I'm starting to get better at teleporting, I can even reach certain things!" His excitement briefly made The Architect smile as he ruffled his hair. "I'm glad to hear that." Mono's excited demeanor slowly melted as he recognized his guardian's tone, he only took that tone when one of the children did something they shouldn't have.</p><p>Like teleporting out of nowhere and giving him heart attacks.</p><p>Mono whined in protest as the man pinched his cheek lightly, feebly flailing his arms as The Architect scolded him. "How many times have I told you <strong>not</strong> to teleport around me randomly? What would happen if I had something in my hands and dropped it just now hmm? Do you fancy being a pancake?" He asked, making the poor boy shake his head rapidly as the man released his reddening cheek. "I'm fine with you using your powers to play with others, but you can't just use them without a second thought. What would you do if you went too far? If you hurt yourself or worse trying to get somewhere?" Mono frowned a bit, looking down at his feet in shame. Every word made him feel worse about his use of his abilities, he always tried his best to be careful whenever he used them. It was just... liberating whenever he got to use them, he didn't have to be as careful as Six with her abilities and that made him feel great.</p><p>The Architect noticed the boy's demeanor and sighed softly, running a hand through his hair for a moment before he spoke once more with a gentler tone. "I don't mean to scare you or make you feel bad, Mono. I'm just worried about what might happen to you if you're not too careful. I don't want to see you hurt yourself. I know how much you love using your powers, I just don't want you getting hurt because of them." He said as he softly rubbed Mono's back, making the boy nod slightly. "I know..." He knew the man wasn't angry with him, just concerned. He always watched them closely during playtime whenever he wasn't working on something with Seth, losing an eye did little to hinder his vigilance. The Architect was always there in a flash the moment someone got hurt or needed something.</p><p>"I'll try to be more careful from now on." Mono's word made The Architect visibly relax as he gently ruffled his hair, making the boy smile. "That's all I ask for." He said, eyeing the bag the boy had slung over his shoulder with curiosity. "Is that why you were late? Were you foraging?" He was about to peek inside when Mono quickly shut it, holding a palm out to stop him. "It was, I was getting things for an idea of mine and you can't see it until tomorrow!" He said sternly, making the man tilt his head with an amused smile before he relented. "Alright, alright, I'll just wait until tomorrow." He said, making the boy nod in satisfaction before he quickly hugged the man. The Architect returned the embrace, watching as the boy hopped off his lap and raced inside with an energetic wave.</p><p>"I'll see you tomorrow then, goodnight dad!"</p><p>"Goodnight Mono."</p><p>He certainly seemed excited, The Architect went to sleep that night wondering what the boy had planned for the next day.</p><p>-</p><p>Mono wheeled a small wagon filled to the brim with hats outside with a wide smile, making most of the children look at him in interest as he came to a stop. He's spent days collecting all of these diverse and nice looking hats, some of them were in some of the most ridiculous spots.</p><p>Why did that stingy Nome make him run a gauntlet, why couldn't they just hand over the stupid hat?</p><p>He proudly presented his hats with dramatic flair. "Hello everyone! I've decided to start sharing some of the hats I've found out in the woods. I have way too many of them anyway." He had a whole drawer dedicated to hat storage, this was but a mere portion of his vast collection. He had a hoard that would make a dragon proud. "You can have any of them you want, for a small fee." He continued with a small smirk, making the children mumble amongst themselves as they peered at the hats sitting in the wagon. The Architect watched this from the doorway of their home, desperately wishing he had a camera to capture this absolutely adorable moment. RK slowly approached the collection of hats and picked up a baseball cap, examining it for a moment before he turned to Mono.</p><p>"How much for this?" The cap looked pretty good, he was prepared to do some chores or even hand over some of those nice looking seashells he's found on the beach.</p><p>Mono briefly looked at the cap before he smiled at the other boy, holding his arms out as he spoke. "One hug!"</p><p>The clearing was silent for a moment as the children looked at the smiling boy, it was briefly broken by The Architect who was scrambling to search for a camera. Maybe he could make one with the parts laying around, where the hell did he put that blueprint?!</p><p>RK slowly smiled as he walked up to Mono, happily hugging him. Seemed like a pretty good trade in his eyes. Mono joyfully returned his embrace, enjoying every second of it before they separated. RK placed the hat on his head as the other boy gave him a thumbs up. "Looking good!" He complimented, making RK grin as he adjusted the baseball cap. Everyone else soon flocked towards the wagon, picking and choosing their desired hats. The Architect returned with a camera just in time to see Mono hug another child, quickly snapping a picture with a wide smile.</p><p>Mono's prices varied depending on the hat, sometimes it was a hug, sometimes it was hand holding. He even asked for a few pinky promises when it came to his rarer hats, asking the kids who picked them if they promised to take good care of said hats. Many children left with trendy hats, incredibly pleased with their purchase. Mono could say that business was good without a shadow of a doubt.</p><p>Six picked up a yellow rain hat and asked. "What do I owe you?" Mono took a moment to think, rubbing his chin with one hand while the other was grasped gently by a smiling Eve. The girl was adjusting her straw beach hat as the boy finally responded. "Just let me see you whenever you decide to put it on, that raincoat is great, but I think that hat would look amazing on you." Eve nodded in agreement, making Six look at the hat with a small blush before she put her hood down. She slipped the rain hat onto her head, looking at the two beaming children as they gave her a thumbs up.</p><p>Seth picked out a tin can with a gleam in his eye, muttering something about a protective glass before he turned to Mono. "What about this?" The boy smirked as he walked over, that one was one of his old favorites. It looked so much like his original paper bag, only metallic and more protective. "Hmm... tell you what, you make something cool with dad, and I'll let you take it. That's a real good one." He assured, making Seth grin as he clutched the tin can to his chest before he shook the other boy's hand with excitement. A possible welding mask and a project, it was perfect! "You have a deal!"</p><p>Mono smiled as he watched everyone admire their new hats, letting pride swell in his chest. No outfit was complete without a good hat. He glanced at the grinning form of The Architect, who was currently taking pictures with a posing Six and RK. The man looked besides himself with joy. Mono resisted the urge to slap a hand over his forehead as a thought occurred to him, he never got a hat for The Architect! How could he forget to gift someone he considered to be a father? He would have to correct this later, he refused to leave the man hatless.</p><p>-</p><p>Mono set off into the woods after his little expo, briefly wondering how he would transport a large hat all the way back home. A TV briefly flickered to his left, making him freeze up before it turned on. He braced himself for the pain to follow, only to blink when all he felt was a pleasant buzz in his mind. He cautiously approached the TV, ready to turn the blasted thing off in a moment's notice the moment he felt pain. These things caused him too much grief in the past, he refused to allow himself to be seduced by them again.</p><p>The channel switched to a small apartment with run down walls and broken furniture, making him tilt his head as he slowly placed his hand onto the glass. He yelped when it sunk in, feeling the difference in temperature before he yanked his hand back with narrowed eyes. He picked up a nearby rock, allowing some static to seep into it before he chucked it at the screen, He watched as it flew through and appeared in the apartment, rolling across the carpet as he confirmed his suspicions. Mono could travel to the apartment by using this TV as a portal. This could help him find a good hat for The Architect, he doubts the man would like any hat that came from The Hunter's cabin.</p><p>The problem was with whatever else was in that apartment.</p><p>He took a deep breath before he slowly climbed into the TV, slowly appearing in the damp apartment. He looked around for any signs of movement, slowly crawling out as he looked around. This was certainly one of the buildings in the Pale City, he could feel the familiar tremors below him as the building tried it's best to stay standing. He briefly ignored the bad memories that came with the feeling, venturing further into the apartment. Mono entered a small bedroom, smiling wifely to himself as he caught sight of a white fedora sitting on the table near a TV. That would be perfect for dad, it even matched his white vest! He slowly climbed up the table by using the drawers handles, never looking at the bed behind him as he finally reached the top.</p><p>He grinned as he examined the hat up close, it was surprisingly clean and stylish. He slowly dragged it over to the TV, flipping it on before going through the channels. His eyes widened when he heard a low groan behind him, turning around to stare at an absolutely baffled Viewer. It looked he was trying to wake up and make sense of what he was seeing at the same time. Mono quickly placed his hand on the TV and tuned it to the familiar sight of his home, shoving the hat through the screen just as the viewer stood up from his bed. He jumped through, narrowly avoiding a grasping hand as the Viewer stomped his foot in frustration.</p><p>Little weasel made off with his favorite hat!</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect stared at the TV in front of him with a small frown. The only reason he kept the thing was for their movie nights, something the children greatly enjoyed. He would have gladly smashed it to pieces if it weren't for their intervention. He was about to stand up when the TV suddenly turned on, making his eye widen as a white fedora flew out of the screen. The man briefly wondered if he was hallucinating before Mono shot out of the TV as well, landing on the wooden floor with a grunt. The Architect watched as the boy hastily turned the TV off before looking at him with a nervous smile.</p><p>A plethora of harsh words and punishments came to mind, he was seconds away from blowing up on the small boy when he proudly presented the white fedora, smiling up at The Architect as he spoke. "I completely forgot to get a hat for you earlier, so I set out to find a real good one!" Mono paced in front of the the hat as he continued. "I thought I wouldn't find one, but then I stumbled upon this beauty!" He excitedly pointed at the hat with a gleam in his eye. "It was really clean and even matches your white vest! I thought it would be perfect for you." He concluded while putting his hands on his hips.</p><p>The Architect had several questions. Where did Mono find this hat? How did he get it through a TV? And why the <strong>hell</strong> was he traveling through said TV? His concern was at an all time high and he seriously considered yelling at the boy for his complete disregard of his warnings over a simple hat.</p><p>He couldn't do it however, Mono looked too damn pleased and he would feel terrible for raining on his parade. He wasn't hurt, so he could probably hold off on scolding the boy. They would have words about his travels through the TV, but not tonight.</p><p>Mono anxiously watched as The Architect slowly picked the hat up, examining it closely. He was briefly afraid that he wouldn't like it. He was about to tell the man that he could always find another one when he put it on. The Architect examined himself through the reflection on the TV, slowly smiling to himself as he turned his head left and right. "Was never much of a hat person, but I really like the look..." He said, making Mono smile widely as the man leaned away. "It's a wonderful hat Mono, thank you. What do I owe you?" He asked with a small smile, making the boy think for a moment.</p><p>"Can I avoid my punishment for using the TV like that?"</p><p>"Dream on, think of something else buddy."</p><p>Well, at least he tried. "Can I sleep with you tonight? I've been having these weird dreams lately where I'm stuck in some room with only a chair. I feel helpless, angry... and really lonely." These dreams came and went when they pleased, leaving him confused and swimming with emotions in the morning. They invoked such intense emotions, it felt like he was experiencing a memory more so than a dream. The Architect hid his discomfort and slight sadness behind a reassuring smile, he could guess where these dreams were stemming from. The Thin Man never elaborated on how he spent his time aging in the Signal Tower, if he was really stuck in that room for all those years...</p><p>"Of course you can." He gently picked the relieved boy up and carried him to his room. He placed his new hat on the nightstand and slowly slipped into bed with Mono in his arms. The boy relaxed against his guardian's warm chest, slowly closing his eyes as The Architect gently rubbed his back. "Goodnight Mono, I love you." Mono didn't know why the softly spoken words filled him with more joy than normal, he's probably heard those same three words plenty of times since the fall of the Signal Tower. They always made the touch starved boy happy, he would never truly get tired of hearing them.</p><p>A part of him felt intense joy when he heard those words, making him smile widely as he replied. "I love you too dad, goodnight." Mono fell asleep to the calm beat of The Architect's heart, allowing the comfortable strokes along his back to lull him to sleep.</p><p>The Architect stared at the boy for a moment before he fell asleep, willing his troubled mind to rest.</p><p>A problem for another day, he's had enough surprises for now.     </p><p>       </p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Birthdays and Celebrations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>RK asks The Architect how old he is, leading to a small talk about birthdays.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Architect was struggling to disassemble a rusty bear trap, the worn metal simply refused to comply with the irritated man. He was seconds away from removing one of the bolts when he heard his workshop door creak open, small footsteps slowly approached as he took the small bolt out with a sigh. RK's cheery voice made him smile slightly. "Hey dad." The man reached down and gingerly picked the boy up, safely setting him down on the table before he resumed his work.</p><p>"What's up RK?"</p><p>"I was just wondering, how old are you?" The boy asked curiously, making him pause for a moment before he answered. "I'm twenty-two-years old, twenty-three once Saturday rolls around." RK tilted his head slightly in confusion. "How come?" The Architect slowly blinked, not understanding the question for a moment before he laughed a bit. "Well, it'll be my birthday then." He replied, further confusing the small boy. He noticed his confusion and decided to answer the question he already saw coming. "A birthday is usually just the day you were brought into this world, we grow older with every year on our birthdays." He explained, making the boy hum in understanding as The Architect finally set the disassembled trap aside, scrap was always good after all.</p><p>"What do you do on those days?" RK asked, making the man shrug absentmindedly. "People used to celebrate their birthdays, my old group used to do it sometimes. You usually bake a cake or something sweet while giving the person gifts to celebrate their birthday." RK's eyes briefly sparkled at the thought of receiving gifts, excitingly looking up at the man as he asked. "Well, when is my birthday?" His question made a brief frown appear over The Architect's face as he reached into a drawer in search of something. He pulled out a small book labeled 'Captives', it was a prisoners log that The Lady had in her study. It had information on each child, down to their height and weight. It also had most of their birthdays written down, with the exception of a few who were brought in by The Ferryman.</p><p>"Your birthday is coming up soon, on the fourth of April." The Architect answered, making the boy grin excitedly. "That's great! We should tell everyone about their birthdays! That book has them all written down, right?" He asked.</p><p>"Most of them, some of the kids might already know their birthdays."</p><p>"How come they never celebrated it then?"</p><p>"I'm not sure, you would have to ask them." The Architect replied, taking the book and setting it down on his chair as he stood up. "I'm going to head to bed, you should do the same. It's almost bedtime." He said, making RK pout briefly before he suddenly smiled. "Alright, goodnight dad!" The small boy ran out of the room, making the man raise a brow as he responded. "Goodnight RK." The boy usually wasn't so eager to go to sleep unless he was absolutely exhausted, and he certainly wasn't tired. The Architect dismissed his strange behavior and set off to bed, oblivious to the small boy's scheme as he slowly shook a sleeping Mono awake. Waking Six in the middle of the night was a surefire way of getting a kick to the shin, so Mono was the next best option in his eyes.</p><p>"Mono... Mono! Wake up!" The sleepy boy grunted and weakly pushed RK's arms away as he sat up, rubbing his eyes as he gave the other boy a tired glare. "What is it...? What do you want?" He said irritably as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I need your help to get a book." RK answered honestly, making Mono stare at him for a moment before he slowly laid back down. "Wait! It's a really important book!" He quickly said, making the sleepy boy huff as he tried to go back to sleep.</p><p>"What's so important about it?"</p><p>"It has almost everyone's birthday on it, most of these kids have no idea what a birthday even is."</p><p>Mono opened his eyes in shock, looking at RK with disbelief. How could someone not know what a birthday is? Sure, he's never really celebrated his own, but at least he knew what it was! It was kind of sad to think that some of his friends didn't even know their birthdays, not that he could really fault them for not knowing. Surviving in this world took priority over a day where you grow a little older. Mono and many others didn't have the luxury of celebrating their birthdays, nor did the need ever arise.</p><p>Things were different now, vastly different.</p><p>Mono had a warm bed to lay in every night, the guaranteed promise of edible food that wasn't rotten or molding. He had countless friends to play and laugh with. All of this was made possible and safeguarded by The Architect, the only man he's ever met that actually cared about children in this terrible world. He wasn't warped or deformed like the other adults, he didn't delight in the suffering of children and bask in their terror while holding them up in a giant fist. He showed them nothing but kindness and understanding whenever he was around, patiently consoling traumatized children with that ever present smile. Mono could have never imagined that such a simple facial expression could have made him feel so safe and loved, he would have outright laughed if someone told him such a comforting smile was coming from an adult.</p><p>That's why Mono felt compelled to join RK in stealing (borrowing) the book sitting on The Architect's work chair. He felt like letting everyone else know about their birthdays and the happiness such a day could bring when properly celebrated. He was sure The Architect would be proud to know his selfless and caring mannerisms were being passed down to them. This was for everyone's benefit in the end.</p><p>Mono also wanted to see what cake tasted like, that was a big motivator too.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect woke up and treated this Saturday morning like any other, he brushed his teeth, checked his eye for infections, and took a quick shower before getting dressed. He prepared himself for a relaxing and calm day with his children, opening his bedroom door with a small yawn.</p><p>The poor man nearly jumped out of his skin when he entered the living room.</p><p>"Happy Birthday Dad!"</p><p>A few of the little devils giggled when they saw him place a hand over his racing heart. You'd think he would be used to loud noises and things jumping out at him due to his childhood. He looked at the smiling faces of the children before his eyes landed on a hanging white banner. It had 'Happy Birthday Dad!' written on it with black words, most likely from markers or crayons. Some of the kids had the hats they got from Mono on in place of party hats. He briefly wondered how they got that banner up there before shaking his head, they probably climbed the bookshelves to hang it up. The Architect has yet to break their habit of climbing things like this, he was unsure if he truly could if he was honest.</p><p>He slowly smiled as he took a knee in front of a happily grinning RK and Mono. "You know you all didn't have to do this, I would have been happy with some cake and a little song." He said, making Mono shake his head quickly. "You've done a lot for everyone around here, we thought you deserved a truly amazing birthday and decided to go all out! We even had Eve help us bake a cake for later!" The boy looked rather excited about the cake, making The Architect chuckle a bit as he rubbed his head affectionately. Mono quickly composed himself as he continued. "You get to sit back and relax while we take care of things, and no, you can't just help us because we shouldn't be doing chores that you could do faster." Six quickly interjected when she noticed The Architect's hesitance.</p><p>"You can happily fix something that breaks or help out with heavy stuff but that's it! This is your day and we don't want you lifting a finger." She said sternly, making the man raise his hands defensively as he nodded. He would rather avoid making the children do anything, but he had a feeling this wasn't a discussion he'd win. They handled themselves well enough when he was gone or sick, he had no reason to worry about them. He sat down on a comfortable reclining chair, smiling widely when some of the kids came forward with crudely wrapped up gifts. The gifts varied from small toys to handmade things like drawings or paper animals. One of them even shyly presented him with a handwritten birthday card signed by everyone, something he greatly enjoyed reading through as Seth dragged his gift behind him with little grunts of effort.</p><p>The Architect looked down at the slightly panting boy as he pulled on his pants, curiously picking up the giftwrapped tool as Seth spoke. "I noticed that you broke your last screwdriver when you were dealing with that... stubborn rusted grate back on The Maw." The man had used much more colorful words to describe said grate that day, words that Seth knew he probably shouldn't repeat. The Architect's eye widened slightly as he examined the screwdriver, slowly turning it in his hand in search for imperfections. The tool was surprisingly mint with no noticeable signs of wear and tear. "Where did you find this Seth? It's in excellent shape." The man asked with a smile, making Seth grin a bit as he replied. "I found a toolbox in The Hunter's cabin when we were out scrounging for materials, he had a lot of tools dedicated to his gun. Figured he didn't need them anymore."</p><p>The Architect was a bit surprised by his answer, he recalled their many ventures into the woods for Seth's projects. Long forgotten traps and wrecked TVs made for excellent scrap. The Hunter's cabin was another place rich with materials they could use, this explained why he often lost track of the boy inside the cabin. You would be surprised how easy it is to lose a child the size of a mouse, especially when you only had a single eye to work with. The Architect slowly smiled as he set his wonderful gift aside, gently ruffling Seth's hair in a similar manner as the other children who gave him such thoughtful gifts. The boy was beaming up at his mentor as he spoke.</p><p>"Thank you Seth, I was wondering how I was going to get my hands on a new screwdriver." He said, enjoying the look of satisfaction that passed over Seth's face before he glanced at the other kids for a moment. He leaned forward and softly whispered.</p><p>"You didn't... hear anything when you saw me working on that grate, right?"</p><p>"Nope, not a word."</p><p>"Good, just wanted to make sure."</p><p>Seth never considered himself a liar, but today was a good day. Best to keep it that way.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect stayed true to his word, relaxing on the chair as the children handled the chores for the day. He only had to get up twice to help them with some of the straining work, like taking out the trash and cleaning some hard to reach places. Once all the chores for the day were taken care of, they moved on to the cake, something Mono was drooling over all day. They were all gathered around a large chocolate cake with blue and red frosting, Six and Mono were being held back from simply pouncing on the cake as The Architect leaned forward to blow out the candle. He was just as eager as them to dig in, he had a crippling weakness to chocolate.</p><p>He cut portions for everyone, handing them out in small plastic plates before cutting his own. Savoring each moist bite as Eve looked on with anticipation, the man had no idea how she managed to make a cake with a few volunteers and Nomes. All he knew was that this was the best and only cake he's ever had. He gave the girl a thumbs up as he ate, refusing to leave the cake alone as he continued to eat with a pleased smile. Eve grinned and allowed herself to relax as she finally touched her portion, swatting Mono's hand away as he reached for the uneaten slice.</p><p>The Architect finished his slice and wiped his mouth clean with a napkin, taking a moment to look at all the kids happily munching away around the living room. The sight changed for a moment, he was surrounded by his smiling friends in the woods as his small hands held a plump berry up to his mouth with clear excitement. He savored the sweet flavor as they spoke kindly while watching him devour the berry.</p><p>"Happy Birthday."</p><p>The words pulled him out of the memory, making him focus on the smiling forms of Six and RK as they looked up at him. He smiled back and gently hugged the two children. "Thank you, this was a lovely little surprise to wake up to." RK grinned and leaned into his embrace as he spoke.</p><p>"It was nothing, I'm sure this will help you with ideas about my birthday!"</p><p>Six pinched his cheek with a disappointed stare, making him cry out in slight pain. "Its not even 12 yet and your thinking about you're own birthday?" She asked.</p><p>"I didn't mean it like that! I just wanted to make sure he remembered that's all!"</p><p>"He takes care of us daily, moron. How would he forget something like that?"</p><p>The Architect shook his head as the two kids began to argue with each other, grabbing another slice of cake as he got comfortable. He was already brainstorming ideas for RK's birthday before he left his room this morning. He wasn't expecting to get a surprise party like this for his own birthday. The amount of effort and time the children put into planning and decorating the house was truly heartwarming to the man, he was determined to repay their efforts in kind when each and every one of their birthdays rolled around.</p><p>He wasn't sure if he could match such a delicious cake like this, but he was sure as hell going to try.</p><p> </p><p>   </p><p> </p><p>     </p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. A Little Remodeling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect spends one of his Saturdays painting the house. Naturally, the children want to get involved.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite his many weeks of waking up early on The Maw, The Architect could still say with confidence that he absolutely despised being up at such an hour. Especially if he was up early on a Saturday, his body refused to go back to sleep despite his best efforts. He eventually gave up and decided to spend his time productively, silently walking past the children's room before stepping outside. He looked at the surrounding forest, taking a small, calm breath as he examined the scenery. The sun was barely shining through the clouds, small rays of sunlight bled through the clouds and shined off the leaves. It never failed to surprise him that such a calming place could hold so many terrible and haunting memories. You would hardly suspect it was the home of a deranged hunter and the resting place of countless children...</p><p>The Architect frowned and looked back at his home, eager to distract himself from such depressing thoughts.</p><p>He noticed how... bland the house looked. Brown and gray were the most dominant colors, it looked quite dull in comparison to the vibrant forest that surrounded it. He scratched his chin slightly, mulling over what to do about this. A new coat of paint would do wonders, maybe red with a splash of green? He was no artist, but he liked the mental view of his home painted in his two favorite colors. Nodding to himself, he walked over to the small shed located at the side of their home. He grabbed two large cans of paint and a brush, walking back over to the house while whistling a soft tune.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect lost track of time as he went to work, the act of painting the wooden and metal walls oddly calming despite the sweat he felt building on his brow. He applied the fresh paint with careful and slow strokes, only speeding up when he was committed to painting a whole part of the building red. He was briefly surprised when he heard Six call out to him.</p><p>"Dad? Are you going to have breakfast?"</p><p>He blinked and looked down at the small raincoat wearing girl, putting his brush down by the paint cans as he replied. "Yeah, let me just clean myself up and I'll whip something up for you guys." Six slowly shook her head, her slightly drowsy voice making him smile a bit. She also wasn't much of a morning person, God knows where RK and Mono got their energy from. You had to be a certified sociopath to be smiling and laughing at such an hour. "We already ate breakfast, we just had some leftovers." The Architect frowned slightly, tilting his head. "Why? I could have made you guys something if you asked." He said, making her nod slightly.</p><p>"We know but... you looked really calm and happy painting out here, no one wanted to bother you. Probably one of the few times anyone has seen you so carefree before." She explained with a small smile, looking up at the surprised man as he processed her words. Was he really that absorbed in painting? He glanced at the house, a good portion of it was painted. A few more hours of diligent work would see the previously bland looking house coated completely in new colors. He remembered how the task looked a bit daunting just a few hours ago, how time flies. He was about to enter the house before he glanced at the yard where some children could be seen playing with various toys, staring at the blank wall that he has yet to paint with a thoughtful expression. The kids did like playing out here, he doubted that they liked staring at that grey wall after years of time in The Maw. He walked into the shed, walking past a confused Six with various cans of paint threatening to spill over in his arms. He set it down by the wall, returning shortly with small brushes.</p><p>The Architect smiled at the confused faces that greeted him as he spoke. "Thanks for letting me paint as much as I did, I would have been happy to make breakfast today but it is what it is." He shrugged a bit before he continued. "I figured since you all love playing in this spot, it would be rude of me to paint over it. So, I think it's only right that you all get to paint whatever you want on your own wall here." He patted the grey wall behind him, making some of the children, mainly Mono and Eve, look at the cans of paint with clear excitement. HB, who had been lounging about in the shade of a nearby tree, looked at the blank wall with a thoughtful look. She slowly shuffled over as The Architect stood up and walked inside with some parting words. "Try not to get too dirty! I don't want to wash too many multicolored clothes today!" The children giggled amongst themselves before eagerly picking up their brushes. HB found a nice patch to work on and held the brush up, slowly starting with soft strokes while everyone else excitedly got to work.</p><p>The hunchbacked girl drowned everything else out as she began to paint, smiling happily under her hood as she worked.</p><p>-</p><p>"I'm surprised you didn't join them, Six."</p><p>"Not much of an artist."</p><p>"I doubt everyone outside is an artist, it's just for fun. You know no one will judge you over what you draw, right?"</p><p>"I know that... I still don't want to though."</p><p>The Architect frowned slightly as he shoveled some cereal into his mouth, swallowing the mixture of frosted sweets and milks before he replied. "If you don't want to then you don't have to, I just figured they'd like to paint something there to look at it instead of some red wall." Six slowly nodded, resting her head on the table while staring out the window. She stared at her laughing and paint stained friends with an unreadable expression as the man stared at her. She obviously wanted to join them, the only thing holding her back was her doubts and self conscious. Six never focused on anything like arts or drawings, sure she played with everyone every now and again but that was about it. She never spent time drawing or making things like the other kids, years of looking out for herself made it hard to pick something like painting up. She just didn't see the appeal.</p><p>"Six, what do you enjoy the most?"</p><p>The girl blinked at the question, looking back up at the man that regarded her with curious eyes. She thought about it for a moment, she enjoyed everything she did around the house. Be it chores or playtime. The only thing that she could really think of that stood out was..." Music I guess, I found this little music box when we were going through The Hunter's cabin. I always listen to it whenever I get the chance." She answered. Six always found time to slink away and listen to the calming melody that the small box emitted. She kept it as her little secret, the tune was both haunting and calming to Six. She couldn't explain why it had such an effect on her, she simply felt safe whenever she wound it up, secure. An inkling of dread would sometimes wash over her whenever she stared at the box for too long, like something terrible was linked with the harmless device. She remembered showing it to Mono once when it was raining out and they were stuck inside. Everyone else was fast asleep at the time, the little melody hardly made anyone stir.</p><p>The trench coat wearing boy stared at the box with an unreadable expression as the tune played, watching the crank turn as she gauged his reaction. Six was nervous about showing someone something she considered precious to her.</p><p>She swore she saw a flicker of anger appear over the gentle Mono's eyes, a look of pure animosity and loathing directed at the box that threatened to spill over with each second that passed. Six had never seen such an intense look cross the usually carefree child's face before, the last time he had that look in his eyes was when he was smashing bullies back in the school with a hammer. She was about to ask him if he was okay when the song ended, prompting him to stand and give her a slightly strained smile.</p><p>"Thanks for sharing this with me. It was... a unique tune."</p><p>He excused himself shortly after, claiming that he was tired and wished to sleep. Leaving a slightly disturbed Six to figure out what she did wrong to make such a hateful expression form on his face.</p><p>The Architect slowly nodded, noting the slight look of discomfort that crossed Six's face. "Is something wrong?" He asked, making her frown slightly as she debated telling him about the strange interaction. Hiding anything from The Architect was a lost cause, the man had a terrifying way of telling when someone was lying about something that bothered them. Losing an eye has hardly stunted this unnerving ability. She chalked it up to all the time he's spent with them mixed with his experience in the forest as a child. "I showed Mono my music box once, he was looking at it with a really intense look. He looked like he was seconds away from smashing it or something." The man raised a brow, little Mono, intentionally breaking something out of spite? It certainly sounded strange, he couldn't imagine the kid doing something like that without a good reason.</p><p>He made a mental note to talk to him about it, swiftly redirecting the topic to something Six might enjoy.</p><p>"You listen to it often?"</p><p>She smiled a bit and slowly nodded. "I really like listening to it, it makes me feel safe whenever I hear it. It kind of reminds me of you in a way." She said, making him lean forward slightly in interest. "Really? How so?" He asked.</p><p>"Well, it's really calm, much like you whenever we're in danger. Yet it also has this haunting and creepy undertone, like something bad is about to happen at any moment. You were always tense when we were walking through the Pale City, ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat. It just reminded me of you." She explained, slowly smirking a bit as she added. "Your glowing eye was also kind of creepy whenever we were in the dark." The smile that was building up on The Architect's face crumbled into a small pout, making her laugh as he replied. "Try not to sound too sad about my lost eye, I might start crying too." He uttered sarcastically, giving her a good natured smile as she stifled her giggles with a hand. He glanced outside for a moment before he spoke once more.</p><p>"Would you hum it for me?"</p><p>There was a small moment of silence as Six processed his request. "What?"</p><p>"The song from the music box, can you hum it for me?" He asked once more.</p><p>Six blushed under her hood, hiding her face in her arms as she laid her head back on the table. The Architect resisted the urge to chuckle at the cute behavior, listening closely as she embarrassedly murmured. "Do I have to..?" The man gave her an easy going smile as he shrugged a bit. "No, but I would really enjoy hearing you hum your favorite song." He answered, making her pout slightly as she debated with herself. Did she really want to do this? She could easily fetch the music box and have him listen to that instead. She glanced up at his expectant eye as he patiently waited for her answer, he looked so eager to listen to her... Six let out a loud, drawn out sigh before sitting up. She glared sharply at the man as she spoke.</p><p>"If I hear so much as a chuckle, I'm stopping. Got that?" She asked, making him nod while making a zipping motion over his mouth with a warm smile. She stared at him for a moment before slowly closing her eyes, not wanting to see his face as she gathered the courage to begin.</p><p>She slowly began to hum the tune that comforted her whenever doubts and fear plagued her mind, her voice soft and low as she mentally followed along with the song. She pictured the little music box in her head, matching its rhythm and notes as the crank turned slowly. She completely immersed herself in her humming, swaying her head along with the tune as the notes slowly reached higher pitches. Six matched it perfectly all the way to the end, smiling happily as the crank slowed to a halt in her mind. She slowly opened her eyes.</p><p>She was surprised to see The Architect smiling brightly at her, nothing but content and joy on his face. He was completely entranced by her performance. While the melody was certainly haunting and a bit creepy, it was oddly calming. It was especially nice to hear from Six, the way she softly hummed the tune and carefully matched it showed just how much she loved it. It translated rather well into her little performance, something The Architect was happy to hear. "That was beautiful, Six." He said honestly, making her smile widen slightly as she bashfully looked down at her hands. She didn't think it was all that special, she was surprised that he didn't start laughing half-way through. Still, it seems like The Architect enjoyed it greatly, something that made her anxious heart flutter with joy. </p><p>"Thank you...What about you?" She asked, making him tilt his head in confusion. "I always hear you humming some tune to yourself when you work." His eye shined with recognition as he smiled widely. "Oh that? Just an old little tune called 'Olly Olly Oxen Free'. My friends and I used to whistle it to each other whenever we knew it was safe to come out of hiding after getting chased, guess I hum it to myself from time to time." He remembered how long it took him to learn how to whistle just to relay that tune back to his old group. It really saved them when the forest came alive with the tweeting and chirps of birds, making it hard to pinpoint their whistling through the noise. Six slowly nodded as The Architect finished his cereal, standing up to put it away before stretching a bit.</p><p>"Now then, let's see what they came up with out there."</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect was pleasantly surprised to see a large array of drawings and paintings flowing along the wall. The children stood beside their creations with pride evident in their eyes. Most of the paintings depicted them playing with their toys or holding hands with The Architect with a bright sun hanging overhead. The depictions made him smile widely, resisting the urge to straight up hug as many as them as he could. He walked along the wall, offering his compliments along with Six, enjoying the way their little faces lit up from the praise.</p><p>"I like the shading here."</p><p>"Is the sun smiling here? How adorable!"</p><p>"You copied me down to my clothes and shoes, amazing!</p><p>He eventually got to HG, who seemed to be putting the finishing touches on her painting. She leaned back, surveying her finished work closely when the voice of her guardian startled her, making her jump slightly as he spoke. "Wow HG... this is really incredible." She flushed slightly as he stared at the drawing. It depicted her being released from his open palm, with white wings sprouting out of her back and preparing to take flight. Ahead of her was other children with similar wings, all of them flying around leisurely in the sky. It was shaded and colored beautifully, with vibrant colors that appealed to the eye. The other children approached, looking at the painting with awe while giving her similar compliments on her work, further embarrassing the hunchbacked girl. She wasn't accustomed to this much positive attention due to her deformity, she failed to find a word that could accurately describe how happy she was at the moment.</p><p>She jumped slightly when she felt The Architect gently rub her head, listening intently to his next words. "You, like everyone here, should be very proud of what you made. This is an amazing painting HG." The small, disfigured girl felt tears build up in her eyes as the man gave her a comforting pat on the back, allowing the other children to talk to the overjoyed little artist in excited voices. He could hear the joy in her voice as she answered questions and offered lessons to those eager to learn how to draw like her. The man watched for a moment before glancing at RK and Eve as they grabbed Six by her arms and started dragging her towards a blank segment of the wall.</p><p>"Come on Six! We saved a nice spot for you to paint!" Eve exclaimed.</p><p>"What!? B-But I don't want to paint anything!"</p><p>"Don't be like that! Everyone drew something, you should too!" RK insisted with a smile.</p><p>The Architect watched as the sputtering girl was spirited away by his friends, looking down as Mono ran to catch up with them. The boy blinked in confusion when he realized he wasn't moving forward, looking up to see the man pinching the back of his trench coat to keep him from leaving with an amused smile. "Slow down for a sec pal, mind if we talk for a second?" The Architect was quick to ease the slight fear he saw build up in the small boy's eyes. "You're not in trouble Mono, I just want to talk to you about something." He said as he gently placed Mono on his shoulder, he waited till the boy nodded slowly before setting out. He walked under the shade of a tree in the yard, far from the group of excited children.</p><p>He sat down by the tree, leaning against its trunk before lowering Mono down to his lap. The boy was nervously looking up at him, desperately trying to find out why he's been singled out by the one eyed man. His ears perked up as The Architect spoke. "So, I heard Six showed you something of hers." He began, making Mono nod a bit. "Yeah, she showed me her music box. She really likes that thing." He spoke. The man raised a brow at the slightly bitter tone, continuing the conversation while regarding the boy carefully. "What do you think of it? She was humming the tune to me earlier." He continued, making the boy furrow a brow as he stared at the ground. He felt that same sense of irritation build up, anger rising from the back of his mind as he thought about that stupid music box. He didn't even know why it made him feel this way and that just added to his ire!</p><p>"Apparently she found it in the-."</p><p>"Hunter's cabin, I wish she left the stupid thing there!" Mono snapped angrily, making The Architect's eye widen in surprise. "I'm tired of hearing that stupid song! Bad enough that I have to hear it in my nightmares, now I have to put up with it here. I should have smashed the stupid thing the minute she showed it to me!" The man was at a loss for a moment, not expecting the pure amount of venom that laced Mono's words as he talked about the music box. The kid sounded like he absolutely despised the music box, what the hell caused this intense loathing? He failed to come up with an answer to explain this strange occurrence, focusing on the boy with a stern stare.</p><p>"Mono, you know that would be a very rude thing to do. How would you feel if I threw away all the hats you collected?" Mono frowned tightly and crossed his arms, refusing to meet his gaze as he continued. "You wouldn't like that, would you?" The boy slowly shook his head. "So you understand why you can't do that to Six, right?" An angry sneer grew on his face as he looked up at The Architect, briefly shocking the man with the rage that he saw behind those normally happy eyes. "Why not? She wouldn't have cared if the roles were reversed."</p><p>"She wouldn't do something as mean as that, especially if those hats meant so much to you."</p><p>"Yeah, because she's a freaking saint right?" The sardonic reply made The Architect narrow his eye at the boy.</p><p>"What in the world has gotten into you? What did Six do to make you so mad?" The man couldn't for the life of him find out where this sudden aggression was coming from.</p><p>Mono scoffed, his voice laced with an undertone of static and irritation. "What didn't that ungrateful brat do? I helped her time and time again and what do I get in return? Nothing, not a single thanks, not a hug, nothing! I faced down the scariest man I've ever met and walked into that terrible place to get her out and all she cared about was that stupid music box!"</p><p>"Mono! That's enough! Six obviously cares about you and everyone else here, she doesn't like that music box more than anyone."</p><p>"Then why did she drop <strong>me</strong>!"</p><p>The Architect flinched slightly when he felt that familiar spine numbing feeling of static dancing across his brain. The boy continued his spiteful rant, completely ignorant to the man's plight. "Why did she care more about that ridiculous music box than she did me?! How many times have I saved her from death? Pulled her up from ledges? Kept her safe? No matter what I did, she would always drop me in that terrible tower! She wouldn't even hesitate! Why did she look at me with those hateful eyes before she dropped me!? What did I do to deserve that!?" Mono had tears of frustration trailing down his cheeks as he let these repressed emotions spill forth. "Wasn't I a good friend!? Did saving her from the tower mean nothing to her!? Why did I have to suffer all of those years of isolation and grief over something that had to be done!? Why did she have to drop me!?"</p><p>The boy was about to launch into another tangent when his eyes fell on the pained expression of The Architect, who was desperately trying to alleviate the pain in his throbbing head. Mono's eyes widened slightly, quickly dispelling the static. The Architect sighed with relief, looking down at the teary eyed boy who was clutching his shirt in a death grip. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do any of that! I was just so mad and confused..." The Architect gently hugged the crying boy, his mind going back to what the Thin Man said in their talk in the Signal Tower. He mentioned an incident that led to his imprisonment, something caused by someone he thought he could trust...</p><p>No... He couldn't have meant that...</p><p>"Mono, how did you guys get into the Tower?"</p><p>Mono blinked at the sudden question, wiping his tears away before he shakily replied. "We went through the streets and were stopped by the Thin Man, we fought and I... killed him? I'm not really sure. He left behind some glitched remains like the one we saw on the beach. It looked like a kid oddly enough... I absorbed it like I did with the one on the beach." His answer made The Architect look at him with shock. So he absorbed the remains of his future self? Did that mean that version of Mono was still alive inside of him? That would explain the hostility towards Six and the music box if Six really did leave him for dead in the past cycles. Now came the hard part.</p><p>How the hell was he supposed to explain all of this to Mono? He would sound absolutely insane!</p><p>"Dad? Is something wrong with me?" Mono's timid and scared voice made him refocus on the boy, quickly pulling him into a reassuring hug.</p><p>"Absolutely not, Mono. There's not a single thing wrong with you." He said confidently, frowning at the way the boy shook in his arms slightly.</p><p>"Then why do I feel this way? I know I have no reason to hate Six or that music box, but they keep popping up in my nightmares. I know she wouldn't hurt me, but those dreams feel so... real. It feels like I've experienced all of that before and it scares me..." The Architect took a deep breath and slowly looked down at Mono. He had no other choice, he refused to let the boy suffer any longer and believe something was wrong with him.</p><p>"Mono... this will be very hard to believe, but I believe you are experiencing the memories of the glitched remains of the Thin Man." Mono's eyes widen in shock, looking up at the man in disbelief as he continued. "When I was taken by him, we talked about some things... One of them being his true identity and what led him to be the man we saw that day. He was you, a future version of you that the Signal Tower turned into a power supply to keep it alive. I didn't want to believe any of this at first but..." He looked down at Mono with sadness, sighing softly. "He had your eyes kid, there was no mistaking who it was at that point... He looked just like you when he turned into a child after I..." The Architect stopped, frowning deeply at the memory before shaking his head slightly. That had been incredibly painful for him, more painful than the transformation the Signal Tower put him through.</p><p>Mono felt incredibly ill for a moment, clutching his stomach with shaking hands as his face paled. "I didn't want to believe it until now, but he mentioned being betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. I wasn't around during some of those cycles he lived through. The only one who was ever around at those times was-."</p><p>"Six..." Mono softly answered, making the man nod sadly. Mono felt like he was going to pass out as he processed this information. That constant feeling in the back of his mind was oddly silent now, no anger or joy, just silence and acceptance. This would explain all the wayward thoughts of hatred he had towards Six whenever she did anything that aggravated him, those inexplainable bouts of anger whenever he was alone with the girl. He never understood why some part of him wanted to have nothing to do with the girl, he's even thought about hurting her on some occasions! He was disgusted with himself despite how much the thought filled him with satisfaction. If she really did betray his future self then this all made sense, but he still didn't feel like any of these thoughts were right.</p><p>"I don't want to hurt Six..." He said in a wobbly voice laced in sadness, making The Architect gently stroke his hair as he whispered. "No one is telling you to hurt her... I think you just needed to get this off your chest. Do you still feel mad?" He asked, receiving a slight shake of the head.  He did feel a little better after all that yelling. "That's good, whenever you feel like this, come see me. I know you don't want to hurt Six so we'll come up with something to make you feel better around her. You might have forgiven her, but your future self hasn't. It will take time to mend that trust, but I'll help you through it." The Architect said comfortingly, gently massaging the shuddering boy's back.</p><p>"Thanks dad..."</p><p>"No problem Mono, are you going to be okay?" He did drop a pretty big reveal on him, he wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't okay.</p><p>"Yeah... I just need a minute I think."</p><p>"Do you need me to leave?"</p><p>"Please don't..." Mono begged, burying his head into the man's warm chest. The Architect nodded slowly and got comfortable, gently running his fingers through Mono's black hair. The boy visibly relaxed at the gentle treatment, his shaking slowly coming to a halt. The man stared at the half painted house for a moment before looking back down at the mentally and emotionally drained boy.</p><p>He could finish that later. He's lost track of how many times he's thought that by now. Hard to account for things like this when planning out a productive day.              </p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Beach Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Architect decides to accompany the children to a small beach close to their home.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to Miss_Swan for the prompt for this chapter. I've been meaning to write this for some time time now, but I've been sidetracked by my other stories and life in general. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Six sat crouched underneath the dining room table, taking calm and controlled breaths as her heart hammered in her chest. Anxiety and fear were stifled thanks to years of perseverance and experience. A set of legs marched past her hiding spot, allowing her to breathe a little easier as she slowly creeped out of her hiding spot. Her pursuer was busy putting wrapped packages of food into a small container, stuffing drinks inside with a light grunt. She glanced at the door to her right, the one that would lead her back to the safety and comfort of her room.</p><p>She just had to reach it without alerting the only other living thing in the room.</p><p>Six slowly crept out of her hiding spot, her footfalls silenced by the small rug beneath her. She narrowed her eyes at the small gap between the rug she was walking on and the next, quickly hopping over it with a small grunt. She looked over at the one hunting her, still dutifully packing the container while glancing out the window occasionally. She continued her slow march, slowly grinning as she got closer and closer to the door. She could make it out without being seen, she was home free the moment she crossed that doorway!</p><p>A soft creak beneath her quickly killed her excitement, making her look down in horror to see her feet touching wood. She looked up at the adult with a slowly paling face.</p><p>He was looking right at her, a small grin slowly spreading over his face.</p><p>"There you are..."</p><p>Six turned to sprint for the door, her body in a state of panic as the adult reached her in two quick strides. Her fingers had just brushed over the doorway when she was yanked off the floor by a large hand. She struggled fruitlessly against the hand that had her trapped, squirming in it's grip as she was lifted up. She lamented her terrible fate as she was brought face to face with her pursuer, glaring at the single eye that looked at her with a tired and slightly amused gleam.</p><p>"Are you done running and hiding around? We're almost ready to leave for the beach." The Architect said as he carried her over to the kitchen counter. Six propped her head up with an arm as she leaned onto his palm, closing her eyes and turning away from him as she replied. "Nope, I told you that I didn't want to go to some stupid beach." She stubbornly said, making the man sigh as he set her down slowly. Eve had come to him earlier this morning, excitedly talking about how nice and sunny it was and how a trip to the beach would be lovely. The Architect couldn't help but agree with her, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and the heat was perfect for lounging about or swimming.</p><p>RK wasn't too thrilled until he assured him that the beach was shallow, he even offered to stay with the boy at all times if he wanted to swim with everyone else. A little coaxing and assurance from Mono made the boy reluctantly agree to come along. Mono had gone and told Six about their plans for the day.</p><p>He returned to The Architect and told him that Six would be joining them once she was ready, that was roughly fifteen minutes ago. He caught her hiding under her bed with her music box, which she quickly abandoned to flee from the unamused man. She obviously didn't like the idea of spending time at the beach, probably because she would have to wear something other than her precious yellow raincoat.</p><p>The Architect had spent a good deal of time making the children swimsuits and trunks, along with floaties for those who weren't so confident in their swimming abilities. He was grateful that he still knew how to make the things he's gazed at with his missing eye, he probably would have lost more sleep if he had to figure out how to make them again from scratch. Seth was a great help, he was sure to let his little apprentice know how grateful and proud he was of him.</p><p>Seth had a large grin on his face for the rest of the day, losing a few hours of sleep suddenly didn't seem too horrible anymore.</p><p>"So you want to stay here all day?" The Architect asked.</p><p>"Yes." Six responded quickly.</p><p>"What would you even do? Listen to your music box all day?"</p><p>A slow nod was his answer, making him sigh once more as he rubbed his face.</p><p>"Six, you can't stay cooped up in here all day by yourself."</p><p>"Why not? You do the same thing when you work on a project!"</p><p>"Except I come out when someone needs something or wants to do something fun, like go to the beach." His response made her pout and cross her arms, he decided to continue. "We're just going to spend a couple of hours there anyway, you don't have to go into the water. I made sure to make a few umbrellas for some shade." She hardly seemed moved, until she heard his next words. "We'll also have a picnic with plenty of food for everyone, Eve and I made it earlier."</p><p>Six made an effort to appear as nonchalant as possible while internally drooling at the thought of The Architect's and Eve's cooking, pretending to think about it before caving in with a shrug. "Fine... but I still think I'll look stupid in a swimsuit..." She said with a huff, making The Architect smirk slightly as he replied. "Perfect, and I don't think you'll hate your swimsuit. I made it the same shade of yellow as your raincoat." The smile he gave her made her temporarily forget why she was so adamant about staying home in the first place, he seemed so delighted to see her joining them. It was incredibly endearing to see him so excited about giving her something he specifically made for her.</p><p>It was hard to stay stubborn with such a warm look directed towards her.</p><p>She was gingerly placed on his shoulder as he carried the cooler and container filled with food. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be as bad as she thought...</p><p>-</p><p>The beach wasn't too far from where they first made landfall when they arrived. It had a good deal of space and the waters were shallow, The Architect didn't have to worry about one of the children getting swept away. The sun hung high above their heads, it's warm rays made the man sigh in content as he set down the coolers. The children watched their guardian as he worked, all dressed in swimsuits and trunks. Eve and Seth were wearing green swimsuits, Seth himself looked incredibly proud in his attire while Eve got used to the feeling of warm sand between her toes. RK was wearing the same trunks he used when The Architect was helping him with his fear of swimming, two floaties sat on his arm as he stared at the water like a resigned inmate heading to the gallows.</p><p>Mono's swim trunks were a dark brown, much like his trench coat. RB had orange swim trunks, designed after his precious cloak. HG still had her hood and was quick to lounge under the shade of an umbrella. The Architect wanted to help the girl feel more comfortable with her appearance, but trying to do so now would most likely do harm than good. He would have to set her aside at some point and address the topic.</p><p>It would be an uncomfortable and tense talk, but one that must be had.</p><p>Six lagged behind the group slightly, wearing a vibrant yellow swimsuit with a sun hat gifted to her by Eva. She claimed that the outfit would look spectacular with the hat, happily gifting it to the timid girl who couldn't refuse the thoughtful gift. It was nice to have something to ward off the sun from getting in her eyes. The Architect himself was wearing a snow-white colored swim trunk as he set up a few chairs for their convenience. Six frowned slightly at the sight of his old wounds, his shoulder and side has long since healed from his fight with The Hunter. Scars remained as a permanent reminder of his struggle, as well as his carelessness when overcome with anger.</p><p>She shook her head to rid it of such dreary thoughts, he hardly seemed bothered by them, so why should she?</p><p>The Architect reclined on a chair and sighed as he reached into one of his bags, taking out a small bottle of sunscreen as he spoke. "Alright, let's get you guys protected from the sun. I don't need a bunch of tomato children coming back home with me." The children lined up with little laughs, allowing him to apply the sunscreen with a smile. Six shivered slightly as the cold sunblock was applied to her skin. The man leaned back with a satisfied smile and reached into the cooler for a drink as he spoke once more. "Go ahead and have fun, remember to stay in the shallow water where I can see you. I doubt any of you want to go swimming off in the deep end. We'll have lunch once everyone has their fill of the beach." He said calmly, smiling widely as the children quickly spread out along the beach.</p><p>A few of them began to construct little sandcastles while others gleefully ran into the water, giggling and laughing loudly as they swam and splashed water on one another. The Architect watched for a moment before leaning back, drinking from a small bottle of water before he felt someone poke his leg. He looked down to see RK and Mono grinning up at him, making him raise a brow slightly. "What's up?" He asked, prompting Mono to speak quickly. "We wanted to bury you in the sand with RB, he says it feels weird but warm." The man looked up to see a smiling RB buried in the sand with only his head sticking out, Eve and Seth were staring at him while Six tilted her head while lightly poking the buried boy. The Architect stared at them for a moment before looking back down at the excited faces of the two boys. He shook his head slightly and stood up. "Alright fine, I'm not sure how long it'll take you two to dig up a hole big enough but why not?"</p><p>They cheered and quickly dragged him along. They would probably tire themselves out while digging, he didn't expect them to bury him anytime soon.</p><p>-</p><p>The Architect had forgotten that Seth was among them.</p><p>His apprentice had the foresight to make a deep enough hole in preparation for when The Architect would inevitably join them. He was swiftly buried by the giggling children, staring at the calm waters with a straight face as Mono and Six carefully patted the sand around his neck. The children admired their handiwork would clear pride while The Architect stared at them with an unamused face. They were all quick to climb onto his head and settle there. "I think we did a pretty good job." Eve said while leisurely kicking her feet into the air. Mono and RK nodded in agreement while Seth and Six played around with his hair. The man fought the urge to stand as they toyed with his hair.</p><p>"Yes, it was truly impressive how fast you were able to make this hole Seth. I guess we can improve the difficulty of our projects, don't want you getting rusty now." The Architect said happily despite having a straight face, Seth was the only one who understood the underlying promise in his words. The poor boy mentally prepared himself for the headaches and sleepless nights to come as his friends said similar words of praise, oblivious to his plight. RB squirmed slightly from his spot in the sand, pouting slightly as he called out. "Can someone dig me out already? This is starting to get uncomfortable." His plea was answered as Seth quickly jumped off The Architect's head, eager to get away from the slightly irritated man.</p><p>Six decided to ask. "How does it feel dad?"</p><p>He answered without missing a beat. "It feels like I have sand on almost every part of my body."</p><p>Six nodded thoughtfully for a moment as she rubbed her chin with a slight smirk. "Are you regretting this little trip yet?" She asked.</p><p>"Not as much as you will if you keep testing me, Six." He said while glancing up at the girl hanging off his head. Mono and RK chuckled as they crossed their arms, smiling smugly as they joined in. "That would have sounded scarier if you weren't buried in sand." RK teased. "It doesn't sound that intimidating when we're on top of your head like this." The Architect raised a brow, Eve was quick to jump off the moment she noticed the mischievous gleam in the adult's eye. She didn't want to get caught up in whatever nonsense was about to transpire.</p><p>The three grinning children were none the wiser until the sand shook slightly, their eyes widening slightly as The Architect slowly freed his arms and shoulders from the sand. They were quick to hop off his head and run off, screaming loudly as the man slowly dug himself out and marched after them with a laugh. "Do I sound intimidating now!? Where are you running off to?!" He shouted as he chased them. Eve, Seth, and RB just watched from the sidelines while the sandy boy cleaned himself in the water. They watched as the man caught the three running children and slowly walked into the water to wash the sand off his body, he allowed Six and Mono swim around after letting them down, their pouting faces glaring up at him as they wiped wet sand off their bodies.</p><p>The Architect gently lowered an anxious RK into the water, whispering encouraging words to the slightly nervous boy. "This is no different than our other swimming exercises, I'll be right beside you the whole time. All you have to do is say the word and I'll take you back, alright?" He asked softly, making RK nod slowly before he was lowered into the water. The boy was much calmer compared to the first time they did this, The Architect was immensely proud with his progress, it took a great deal of courage and conviction to face your fears in such a way. RK had tackled each exercise like a champ, his hesitation this time had understandably stemmed from the large body of water that lied beyond this shallow little beach.</p><p>He was relieved that they were strictly restricting themselves here.</p><p>While RK slowly got used to to the cool water, Mono swam around around with a carefree smile. The Architect blinked before glancing at Six, who was simply standing in the shallow water. He tilted his head and sat down, submerging himself in the cool water as he asked. "Why aren't you swimming, Six?" He asked.</p><p>She looked up at him with a straight face. "I don't really know how to swim."</p><p>He blinked for a moment in surprise. "You knew I was helping RK with his fears, why didn't you ask me to teach you? He would have appreciated having a friend swimming around with him." Six shrugged slightly in response. "I didn't want to interrupt your sessions, thought it would mess things up for him." The Architect sighed and shook his head, gently pulling Six over to him before holding her afloat. "Well, no time like the present. Let's start with some doggy paddles, just move your arms and legs like this below you." He instructed while providing an example with his own limbs. She seemed to understand and mimic the action, allowing him to gradually release her so she could swim by herself. This went well for about ten seconds before her arms got tired and she started going under, prompting him to quickly grab her and lift her out of the water.</p><p>Six looked up at him with a tilted head as some of her hair stuck to her face. "Was I not doing it right?" She asked curiously.</p><p>"No, you probably got a little tired and started sinking. We should probably get you some floaties too..." He replied as he carried her back to the beach, he probably should have done this before allowing her to swim in the first place...</p><p>-</p><p>After a small impromptu swimming lesson (RK was thrilled about helping Six), everyone returned to the beach to have lunch. Eve and Mono helped The Architect hand out wrapped sandwiches and drinks. Most of the children were tuckered out with the exception of HG, who was happily sketching the beach into her sketch book, something The Architect managed to scrounge up from his workshop. She assured him that she was perfectly happy with enjoying the sunlight while sketching, he was a little saddened that she didn't get to swim, but he didn't make a big deal out of it.</p><p>She was content, that was enough for now.</p><p>He handed his two little helpers their meals before grabbing his own, taking a small bite out of his sandwich. The children spoke to each other as they ate, recounting their experiences while showing each other some of the things they collected. They varied from seashells to small clumps of seaweed, one of the children even managed to find a baby turtle. They proudly showed it off to everyone while the Architect bemoaned the future lessons he would have to teach involving turtles and how to care for them. He could already see how enamored they were with the little creature, he wasn't going to be able to persuade them to let it go anytime soon. Best to prepare in advance and save himself the headache.</p><p>At least it wasn't a dog or a cat, his experiences with animals weren't exactly stellar.</p><p>"So we can keep him?" An excited Mono asked as they walked back to their home, making The Architect sigh softly as he replied. "Yes, I'll teach you all about how to take care of him. He's your responsibility after that though, you all have to clean up whatever mess he leaves behind." Mono nodded quickly while the other kids behind him grinned in excitement. He hugged the confused little turtle gently as he spoke. "That's fine! We'll take good care of Don." The man raised an eyebrow at the name, he felt like he should have remembered a name like that from somewhere. His mind kept drawing blanks and he eventually gave up on trying to remember.</p><p>All in all, today was a rather relaxing Saturday, even if they were returning home with a plus one. </p><p>  </p><p>       </p><p>   </p>
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